Public Service: Medical Marijuana by Steamboat Pilot & Today

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Viewpoints Steamboat Today • Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Editorial

Medical marijuana series aims to educate

oday through Friday, you’ll find a three-part series about medical marijuana in the Steamboat Today. The series, “Growing Pains,” is an examination of the explosion of the industry in the state and Routt County, at issue as well as Colorado Medical lawmakers’ attempt to marijuana in manage it. Colorado and We tackled this issue not only because of Routt County its high reader interest but also because our view Colorado has become Voters should a leader nationwide keep informed in medical marijuana. Other states are callof the issue ing up officials here to because it talk about steps they will continue can take after voters to affect our approve the drug for communities. medicinal purposes. It’s unclear exactly how many medical marijuana cardholders there are in Routt County. The number certainly is growing, however, and the number of users has reached an estimated 113,000 statewide. This issue isn’t going away, and it’s important for all of us to be informed. Voters approved a very basic amendment in 2000: They legalized medical marijuana for people who have certain medical conditions and a recommenda-

tion from a doctor. But the industry really exploded only last year, after President Barack Obama’s administration said it would not use federal resources to prosecute people who were following their state’s medical marijuana laws. That’s when dispensaries started appearing in Routt County. State lawmakers hustled to get regulations on the books to dictate how the industry would operate. Many dispensary owners welcomed the new rules — in principle, at least —because they sought legitimacy for their businesses. Those regulations helped, but additional steps will be necessary to keep the industry above board. It’s also important to remember that voters approved marijuana ostensibly to be used for medicinal reasons, and the framework of the law should prevent the blurring of those lines. It’s possible that some of those voters saw medical marijuana as the first step toward total legalization of the drug. Regardless of whether that’s true, the current letter of the law allows use only for medical purposes. As Colorado Attorney General John Suthers told us, “Anybody who doesn’t think there’s abuse going on has to be pretty naïve.” But as we examine the issue as communities (Steamboat Springs, Routt County and Oak Creek have allowed dispensaries, and Hayden has chosen

not to), it behooves us also to look at the big picture. We have made decisions about which drugs are considered acceptable, keeping alcohol and many pharmaceuticals legal while criminalizing marijuana and other substances. What are the societal costs of criminalizing marijuana versus the societal costs of legalizing it? And if we did legalize and regulate it as a nation, would that do anything to end the brutal drug wars and murders happening in Mexico and along our southern border? Would we be more safe or less safe? Could we legalize marijuana, tax it and improve the state’s fiscal position? Many cities already are seeing a significant impact with sales tax collections from medical marijuana, and those dispensaries — now called centers — and grow operations certainly are providing jobs. In Steamboat, Rocky Mountain Remedies serves 1,000 regular patients a month, is expected to employ 20 full-time workers by this month and is among the 36 largest in the state based on number of patients. “Growing Pains” addresses the rapid growth and changes specifically in Colorado and provides a snapshot of the larger national response to medical marijuana. We hope it helps the community understand the emerging issue and its importance, and we hope you find the story as interesting as we do.

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YVMC opposes ballot initiatives Karl Gills

For the Pilot & Today

Yampa Valley Medical Center has joined most community organizations and public bodies in adopting a resolution in opposition to ballot initiatives known as Amendments 60 and 61 and Proposition 101. These pose significant and negative impacts on our community and the state if passed. Each of these, in their own and

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separate way, will set back health care, education, infrastructure and other essential elements of our community and state that are already severely lacking in funds to maintain. It is important to Gills state that Yampa Valley Medical Center receives no tax support and is an independent nonprofit hospital. It is not owned or operated by any

P.O. Box 774827 • 1901 Curve Plaza Steamboat Springs, CO 80477 970-879-1502 • 888-499-3999

entity that is identified in Amendments 60 or 61. However, many hospitals in the state are, and we are concerned about the impact on health care delivery statewide. One element of Amendment 60 would override locally approved decisions to retain locally generated taxes for community need above what the Taxpayers Bill of Rights allows. We do See Gills, page 9 Bruce Tinsley

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Editorial Board Suzanne Schlicht, publisher Brent Boyer, editor Blythe Terrell, city editor Tom Ross, reporter Rich Lowe, community representative Sue Birch, community representative

who to call Suzanne Schlicht, publisher, ext. 224 Brent Boyer, editor, ext. 221 Scott Stanford, sales and marketing director, ext. 202 Meg Boyer, advertising manager, ext. 218 Steve Balgenorth, circulation director, ext. 232 Suzanne Becker, creative services manager, ext. 243 Dan Schuelke, press operations manager, ext. 217 Blythe Terrell, city editor, ext. 234 Nicole Miller, news editor, ext. 246 News line: 871-4234 Classified: 879-1502 Sports line: 871-4209 Distribution: 871-4232 Advertising: 879-1502 Fax line: 879-2888 Steamboat Today is published Monday through Saturday mornings by WorldWest Limited Liability Company, Suzanne Schlicht, general manager, 871-4224. It is available free of charge in Routt County. Limit one copy per reader. No person may, without prior written permission of Steamboat Today, take more than one copy of each issue. Additional copies and back issues are available for $1 at our offices or $2.50 to have a copy mailed. 2009 General Excellence Winner, Colorado Press Association Member of the Colorado Press Association, Newspaper Association of America, Inland Press Association © 2010 Steamboat Today

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House District 57 candidates, from left, Randy Baumgardner, Republican; Mike Kien, Libertarian; and Steve Ivancie, Democrat, speak during Thursday night’s forum at the Steamboat Springs Community Center.

Candidates talk pot

State House trio differs about medical marijuana at forum Mike Kien were center doctor’s orders and pick-up at a ELECTION2010 tarian stage for the second night in a pharmacy. Mike Lawrence

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If there are debates about medical marijuana at the state Capitol next year, the voice representing Routt County could say very different things depending on the outcome of the Nov. 2 election. The three candidates for state House District 57 gave their opinions about the boom

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ing industry and the contro versies surrounding it during a Thursday night forum at the Steamboat Springs Community Center. Incumbent Republican state Rep. Randy Baumgardner, of Hot Sulphur Springs, Steam boat Springs Democrat Steve Ivancie and Oak Creek Liber

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row at the venue, where a crowd of about 70 gathered to hear from a variety of candidates just days before ballot-checking begins. Baumgardner said Thursday that he initially was opposed to the idea of medical marijuana dispensaries but could agree with regulations that treat legal use of the drug like any other prescription medication — with

That’s similar in principle to what’s already under way in Colorado, where dispensaries have sprung up like weeds in the past year. Earlier this week, Baum gardner said municipalities should be able to choose how they handle the industry. “As a state, we should recog See Forum, page 46

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Sheriff Wall unable to attend forum after being airlifted to hospital Forum continued from 1 nize and consider the local con trol (by municipalities) of wheth er dispensaries go in or whether they don’t go in,” he said. “As far as the state mandating a blanket coverage for the state, I’m not comfortable with that … if we were to do that, a town that does not want to have medical mari juana dispensaries in their town would have no choice.” The Hayden Town Council voted in August to ban medi cal marijuana businesses from the town. Kien said Thursday that Hay den officials may have “cut their own throat” from a revenue standpoint with that decision. He

added that “the state has already taken too many steps” to regu late the industry — Colorado’s General Assembly voted this year to prohibit new medical marijua na businesses from opening until July 1, 2011 — and that “medical marijuana has to be more afford able.” Ivancie said tighter regulations are needed on the distribution of medical marijuana eligibil ity cards. He also said the state has an “opportunity for revenue enhancement” through taxing and regulating the industry, and should consider production of the drug to ensure quality control. “If it’s for medical use, where is the quality control and regula tion?” Ivancie asked earlier this

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week. “I think the state has the obligation to regulate, to tax and consider quality controls … the same as any pharmaceutical.” For more on the House District 57 race, look for a comprehen sive candidate story in Sunday’s Steamboat Pilot & Today.

Other races The Pilot & Today, Steamboat Springs Board of Realtors, Routt County Democratic Party and Routt County Republican Party sponsored Thursday’s forum. Garrett Wiggins, Republican candidate for Routt County sher iff, said he’s “come in under bud get” every year as commander of the All Crimes Enforcement Team. “I think I have a positive his tory, and I can’t say that about my opponent,” Wiggins said. Sheriff Gary Wall wasn’t able to attend Thursday’s forum after being airlifted Wednesday night to a Denver-area hospital with what he said were complications from the flu. Wiggins was asked about a December 2009 audit of ACET that identified several issues with in the task force. He said those issues were resolved and have led to a better overall operation. Also Thursday, state Sen. Al White, R-Hayden, spoke against Proposition 101 and Amendments 60 and 61, measures on the ballot in November that significantly would reduce taxes and fees and limit governments’ ability to bor row. White called the measures akin to “trying to swat a fly with a sledgehammer” and said he didn’t know how the state would move forward with its budgets and ser vices should they pass.

Forum organizers said they could not find someone at the state or local levels to speak in support of the three ballot mea sures. Kevin Nerney, unaffiliated can didate for Routt County coroner, spoke about his 20 years as fire fighter and police officer in New York City, saying “you can’t buy that kind of experience.” In response to a question from Pilot & Today editor Brent Boyer, who moderated the forum, Nerney said the city’s November 2007 revocation of the liquor license for his Pirate’s Pub and Jade Summit restaurant was “cer tainly not” relevant to his candi dacy for coroner. Nerney reiter ated that his decades of working with the public have given him the compassion necessary for the coroner job. Chuck McConnell mentioned compassion when speaking for incumbent Coroner Rob Ryg, a Republican. Ryg could not attend Thursday because of family mat ters. McConnell said the sevenyear coroner and former pastor at Euzoa Bible Church has intan gible, empathetic qualities that McConnell saw firsthand in June 2008, when McConnell’s son died and Ryg was one of the first responders. Lu Etta Loeber spoke for Democratic coroner candidate Darrel Levingston, also unable to attend Thursday because of family matters. Loeber cited Lev ingston’s experience with Routt County Search and Rescue and his goals of broadening the coro ner position to community out reach work for causes such as suicide prevention. Incumbent Colorado Secretary

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of State Bernie Buescher, a Democrat from Grand Junction, said during Thursday’s forum that his office significantly has cut expenses, cleaned up voter rolls and more in his 21 months on the job. McConnell, speak ing for Republican challenger Scott Gessler, said Gessler would require first-time voters to show proof of citizenship when casting a ballot. Gessler also supports photo identification for voters. “Show me voters who have voted illegally in this state,” Buescher said about the issue. “If there’s a problem, let’s deal with it — but I haven’t seen one.” Buescher said “Colorado has very clean elections” and cited costs of as much as $5 million to implement a photo ID system, which he said didn’t make sense from a business standpoint. Also attending Thursday’s event was Melissa Hart, the Democratic candidate for an atlarge seat on the University of Colorado Board of Regents. She supported a cap for tuition rates and alternative funding sources to ensure affordability for future generations. McConnell said her opponent, incumbent Republican Steve Bosley, is best qualified to handle “the most challenging budget crisis” in CU’s history. After the event, Steamboat resident Dave Moloney said there’s “a lot at stake in this elec tion” and expressed hope that Routt County’s representative at the Capitol next year would keep the area’s key economic driver in mind. “For Steamboat right now, tourism is huge,” he said. “We’ve got to make sure that’s one line item that doesn’t get cut.”

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STEAMBOAT TODAY

Monday, October 25, 2010

City of Steamboat reshaping pot regulations Marijuana-infused products, off-premises cultivation enter license discussions Mike Lawrence

Medical marijuana

PILOT & TODAY STAFF

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS

Issues in Routt County

be something people have the option to do in their own home.” Reisman, conversely, said he did not want to open the door at all to licensed infusedproduct manufacturers. Lisa Kamieniecki, who attended last week’s meeting and discussed the manufacture of marijuana products under the business name “Sweet Dreams,” lives next door to Reisman on Kelhi Court. “If I vote for any (manu facturer licenses), then it could

Continue the conversation online at www.steamboatpilot.com

wind up in the house next door to me,” Reisman said. “There’s no way I’m voting for that.” Reisman added that legally, marijuana is not in the same category as liquor. “Until you have it legalized, with the same regulations as alcohol, I think it’s different,” he said. Foote said the city has not issued any licenses for infusedproduct manufacturing. Under the state laws detail ed by House Bill 1284, he said, medical marijuana centers

would have a separate license for infused products and for offpremises cultivation, potentially placing as many as three sepa rate licenses under one roof. That would mean the city’s current threshold of three medical marijuana licenses could expand to nine licenses or more. What to do about primary caregivers, Foote said, also will

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play out in the city’s upcom ing discussions about proposed ordinance revisions. “Really, the big issue is that we had one kind of business before 1284, and now we have four dif ferent kinds,” Foote said. “Those things (have) to be revised in our existing ordinance.” — To reach Mike Lawrence, call 871-4233 or e-mail mlawrence@steamboatpilot.com

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rATES FOr STEAMBOAT 1 COLUMN X 2” BLOCK $215.00/ MONTH FOr CrAig ANd STEAMBOAT • $315.00/MONTH

October 25, 2010 Visit the city web site at www.steamboatsprings.net

For up to date information, visit the City’s website at www.steamboatsprings.net and view the City News Link.

October 27 28 28 28 28

CITY MEETINGS CALENDAR

Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting, Community Center, 5:30 pm Golf Committee Meeting, Staxx’s at Haymaker, Noon URAAC Meeting, Room 113/114, 1:00 pm Historic Preservation Committee, Room 113/114, 5:00 pm Planning Commission Meeting, 5:00 pm

Early November

1 Steamboat Springs Rural Fire Protection District Meeting, Crawford Rm, 5:00 pm 2 Liquor Authority, 5:00 pm 2 City Council Meeting, 5:05 pm 4 Historic Preservation Commission, 5:00 pm All meetings are held in Centennial Hall, Citizens’ Meeting Room, unless otherwise noted. For more information, call the Office of the City Clerk, 879-2060. You may listen to City Council and Planning Commission meetings on your phone by calling 871-7070. This service is provided to the first 20 callers. You may also listen to City Council meetings on cable channel 6. Looking for a City Council or Planning Commission agenda? They are available on the City’s website: www.steamboatsprings.net

GET READY FOR WINTER PARKING RESTRICTIONS Parking problems are compounded by winter snow, which accumulates fast with each storm. In order to expedite snow removal efforts, parking is prohibited on City streets and shoulders during the following hours from November 1 through April 30.

Location

HALLOWEEN STROLL & END OF CONSTRUCTION CELEBRATION October 31st, 4:00 - 7:00 pm On Lincoln Avenue from 5th to 11th Streets. There will be an End of Construction Celebration in front of the Courthouse from 4:00 - 5:00 pm, followed by the Halloween Stroll.

PLANNERS’ PLAT

Department of Planning and Community Development

Election signs may NOT be placed in any City of Steamboat Springs or Colorado Highway right of way (ROW). Election signs may only be placed on private property with the property owner’s permission. For any other questions regarding election signs please call

Barb Wheeler, Code Enforcement, 871-8274.

CITY COUNCIL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OPEN HOUSE

November 9, 2010 at Olympian Hall, 845 Howelsen Parkway 5:00 – 5:30 pm Social Time Light Refreshments Served 5:30 pm City Council Discussion “What should City Council be doing to help businesses survive?”

City Hall and Centennial Hall office hours are as follows: 7:30 am - 5:30 pm Monday – Thursday CLOSED on Fridays.

Restricted Hours

3 a.m. to 6 a.m. Lincoln Avenue 3 a.m. to 6 a.m. Ski Time Square Midnight to 8 a.m. Anglers Drive area & south to city limits 2 a.m. to 8 a.m. All Other Areas Your vehicle may be TICKETED if left on City streets within the restricted hours or TOWED during snowplow operations within the restricted hours.

KEEP ADDRESS SIGNS/NUMBERS VISIBLE

Steamboat Springs Fire Rescue encourages citizens to make sure that their residence and/or business has properly displayed address signs. In the event of an emergency it is important that your address is visible to those responding to help you. ATTENTION ALL CONTRACTORS AND HOMEBUILDERS: SCHEDULE YOUR INSPECTIONS NOW!

If you are anticipating needing permanent power, certificate of occupancy (CO) or water and/or sewer service during the winter months, schedule your project so that your grading/drainage improvements and utility installations are complete and inspected before November 1. Don’t get caught by the snow – its coming! •To schedule a Right-of-Way Inspection call 871-8210. Please leave your name, site address and building permit number. We will also need to know where the approved building permit plans are kept on-site. Inspections are not conducted between November 1 and April 1 due to snow restricting visibility of site conditions. •To schedule a Water and/or Sewer Inspection call 871-8207. No water and/or sewer work can be performed from November 1 – May 1. •To apply for an Excavation Permit call 879-1807. In order to protect the City’s infrastructure from damage over the winter months, excavation in the public rightof-way is prohibited from November 1 – May 1. You will need a variance approved by the Public Works Director if you need to excavate during snow season. •Also don’t forget that all construction dumpsters, port-o-lets, material piles, etc. must be out of the ROW prior to November 1!

The City welcomes your comments, requests and suggestions. Call 871-7079, or email us at pal@steamboatsprings.net

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Colorado’s booming medical marijuana industry is present ing regulatory challenges at the state and municipal levels, and Steamboat Springs is no excep tion. Steamboat Springs City Cou ncil gave initial direction last week as to how city staff should revise the city’s medical marijua na regulations in order to comply with state laws adopted this year. City Council’s wide-ranging dis cussion of the issue included how to address licensing for manu facturers of marijuana-infused products and for off-premises cultivation, whether to change the city’s current limit of three licenses, and more. City staff attorney Dan Foote said a proposed, revised ordi nance could be presented to the Steamboat Springs Planning Commission in December or, more likely, January. The revised ordinance then would go before City Council for public review and adoption. City Council made two pri mary votes last week about what those revisions should include. First, City Council voted, 6-1, to remove Steamboat’s require ment that one of the city’s three licensed medical marijuana busi nesses be a co-operative model. The vote supported chang ing the co-operative model to a for-profit business, largely in response to the state’s House Bill 1284. “To operate as a nonprofit co-op has become very diffi cult with the new law,” said JJ Southard, operations supervi sor for the co-operative Natural Choice in Steamboat. Councilman Scott Myller opp osed that vote. Second, City Council voted, 5-2, to allow three infusedproduct manufacturing licenses in the city, for the creation of products that can range from baked goods to tinctures. Foote said those licenses likely could be attached to existing medical marijuana centers. Council members Jon Quinn and Kenny Reisman opposed that vote for very different rea sons. Throughout last week’s con versation, Quinn supported removing the city’s limits on medical marijuana licenses and instead, treating the industry in a similar fashion to liquor estab lishments. “I’ll be honest with you, marijuana should not be ille gal,” Quinn said. “This should be above board, this should

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Volume 124, Number 12 • Steamboat Springs, Colorado • www.steamboatpilot.com

An alternative treatment

Steamboat mom sees positive results from giving autistic son medical marijuana HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY?

Jack Weinstein

PILOT & TODAY STAFF

Continue the conversation online at www.steamboatpilot.com

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS

A Steamboat Springs parent uses medical marijuana to treat her 13-yearold son’s autism. Babette Dickson said she’s seen positive results since she started giving James medical marijuana. When Dickson gives it to him — in the form of edibles or tinctures — she said he’s less prone to outbursts. She said James, who struggles with language, sometimes gets frustrated and angry when he has trouble communicating. She said he has anxiety. Yet, Dickson said James has been calmer the few times he has ingested medical marijuana.

“I think if some people are offended or shocked by this, that’s OK,” Dickson said. “I know what’s best for my child. It’s a choice I made for James.” Dickson, who teaches French at Steamboat Springs High School, said she first learned about medical marijuana as a possible autism treatment method after seeing it used that way on a cable television news program. She started doing research, finding newspaper articles about other parents who successfully used the controversial treatment with their children in states where it was legal to do so.

Marijuana became legal for people with certain medical conditions and a doctor’s recommendation after Colorado voters approved Amendment 20 in 2000. California was the first state to allow it, in 1996. Fourteen states and Washington, D.C., since have approved the use of medical marijuana. Dickson long has been aware of marijuana’s benefits. She said her first husband smoked marijuana recreationally after he returned from Vietnam, where he served as a Green Beret in the U.S. Army Special Forces. She noticed how it treated his posttraumatic stress disorder and the pain he experienced from the shrapnel lodged in his body. She said it also treated the pain associated with the

gallbladder cancer that ultimately took his life in 1995. Dickson decided to give medical marijuana a try with James before last school year ended. Concerned about the chemicals in prescription medications and wary of their effects, Dickson said she’s never given James pills. Just three times last year she gave James peanut butter cake or brownies containing marijuana before sending him to school. Dickson said James doesn’t know he’s been given medical marijuana. She observed his behavior before dropping him off and asked his teachers about his behavior during the day when she picked him up. Satisfied with the initial results, See Autism, page 8A

Funding a brighter future Craig-Scheckman Family Foundation to celebrate 5 years of giving to youth programs

he Craig-Scheckman Family Foundation has grown out of its infancy, Executive Director Sara CraigScheckman said. Entering what she calls its adolescent years at age 5, the foundation Story by has been focusing on thoughtNicole Inglis ful and creative approaches to supporting at-risk and lowincome youths across Routt County. But a family foundation is nothing without a family of community advocates from across the county who work together in ways that give Craig-Scheckman and her organization hope for a brighter future for children. The foundation was launched about five years ago with $2 million of the Craig-Scheckman family’s money. Its initial goal was to put $100,000 each year into community youth programs. “To be privileged financially, that’s a responsibility,” CraigScheckman said. “And you can do amazing things with your money. “But writing checks is just a

sunday focus

See Foundation, page 11A

ELECTION2010 www.steamboatpilot.com/election2010

Plans shape up for Tuesday Candidates ready for election night Zach Fridell

PILOT & TODAY STAFF

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS

“Right now, we do a lot of gold and copper mines,” ACZ owner Les Liman said last week at ACZ’s facility on Downhill Drive, off Elk River Road on Steamboat’s west side. ACZ’s work for gold mines includes testing discharged groundwater for contaminants, for example. Walking through ACZ’s hallways, past pristine

With just two days left until the election, candidates are going out of their way to be seen in public in the wrapup of the 2010 campaign. Democrat Steve Ivancie and Republican Randy Baumgard ner have the most area to cover locally as the two men finish the race for House District 57. Baumgardner said he plans to spend the weekend near his home in Hot Sulphur Springs and will give a speech in the Fraser Valley area today. On Monday, he will travel to Steamboat Springs and Hayden for one final push before Election Day on Tuesday. “I’ll be out on the road in the district and meeting people and shaking hands and asking for votes,” he said. Baumgardner said he has been invited to several election night parties in Steamboat and Denver, but he plans to spend the night at home because it would be a long drive back from either of those places after the results are in. Steamboat’s Ivancie said he’s going to walk door-to-door in Grand County in the final days. “It’s been a real honor to run for this seat, and I’m looking forward to it of course coming to a conclusion and getting on with the results,” he said. He said he has had an enthu-

See ACZ, page 5A

See Elections, page 8A

JOHN F. RUSSELL/STAFF

Sara Craig-Scheckman, center, talks with Soroco High School Principal Dennis Alt, right, and Superintendent Scott Mader, left, about a recent grant from the CraigScheckman Family Foundation. The foundation gave $175,000 to local organizations last year.

Lab incentive could be model City’s $40K to ACZ might guide efforts to promote job creation Mike Lawrence

PILOT & TODAY STAFF

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS

MATT STENSLAND/STAFF

ACZ Laboratories employees Lauren Brown and Mike Brougham prepare samples Wednesday.

PAGE DESIGNED BY LAURA MAZADE

JOHN F. RUSSELL/STAFF

James Dickson gets a hug from his mom, Babette, outside the family’s home in Steamboat Springs last week. Babette Dickson said she’s seen positive results since she started giving James medical marijuana in the form of edibles or tinctures.

A $40,000 incentive from the city of Steamboat Springs for the potential expansion of ACZ Laboratories could shape the city’s future promotion of economic development, in a spirit reminiscent of the former enterprise zone on Steamboat Springs’ west side.

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ACZ Laboratories conducts environmental testing for a variety of clients, primarily in the mining and petroleum industries. Those clients span the globe. ACZ President and CEO Audrey Stover said ACZ’s customer list includes two gold mines in Ghana and clients in South America, Eastern Europe and Russia, among other foreign locales and in addition to ACZ’s domestic work.

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Routt County candidates for sheriff and coroner wrap up campaigns this weekend Elections continued from 1A siastic response from voters but realizes he is in a conservative district. Ivancie said he would spend election night at the Routt County Clerk and Recorder’s Office at the downtown courthouse, watching results come in. Neither Baumgardner nor Ivancie said they planned to spend any more money in the final days of the campaign.

Their Libertarian challenger, Mike Kien, of Oak Creek, has gone the whole campaign without spending any money other than for the required gas to fuel his Subaru as he traveled the district. He said this campaign has been a success for him as he has spread his views to bigger audi ences than he’s had by participat ing in forums.

Local races Sheriff Gary Wall said he’s

wrapping up his campaign this weekend and hasn’t planned any major events because he figures most people already have made up their minds. Wall is facing All Crimes Enforcement Team Cmdr. Garrett Wiggins in a rematch of the 2006 election. “I’ll just be out in the commu nity seeing people,” Wall said. He said he plans to go to several func tions during the weekend. He said he’s not sure where he will spend election night — with friends, at

the Routt County Democrats’ party or at home. Wiggins, who was unavailable for comment Friday, said in a voicemail that he was busy win terizing his house and taking care of his horses during the day. Coroner Rob Ryg, in his first contested election after seven years on the job, said he plans to do some “flag waving” down town and spend election night with Routt County Republicans. He said he’s finished spend

ing money in the campaign, and although he’s optimistic, he has no way of knowing how the elec tion will go. He’s facing Darrel Levingston and Kevin Nerney in a threeway race. Levingston said he, too, would be out in public as much as possible this weekend. “I have been doing a few shifts standing on Lincoln Avenue wav ing at friends,” he said. “Mostly, it’s just trying to get out and see as many people as

you can, and get them out and vote. My race is important to me, but there are a lot of races in this county that are important to the citizens of Routt County that I hope we get a better-thanaverage election turnout.” Early voting ended Friday, and regular voting polls will be open Tuesday. A list of poll ing locations is available on the Routt County Clerk and Recorder’s Office website, www. co.routt.co.us.

Some skeptical of treatment Autism continued from 1A Dickson took James to get a medical marijuana registry card in June. After Colorado voters appr oved Amendment 20, the state’s constitution was amended to allow the use of medical mari juana for eight debilitating con ditions: cancer, glaucoma, HIV/ AIDS, cachexia (physical was ting away though weight loss and muscle atrophy), severe pain, severe nausea, seizures and persis tent muscle spasms. The state constitution allows physicians or patients to petition the Colorado Board of Health to add a debilitating medical condi tion to the list of eight. Mark Salley, a spokesman with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, said in an e-mail that the Board of Health had not been petitioned to consider autism. And according to the most recent statistics on the depart ment’s website, only 24 peo ple younger than 18 had been approved to use medical mari juana as of Feb. 28, 2010. Dickson said James suffers from muscle spasms. Because he is a minor, state law requires that two doctors approve his use of marijuana. Two physicians did so via teleconference from Rocky Mountain Remedies in Steamboat, a practice that is no longer legal. One of the doctors, a Denver physician, declined to comment for this story. The other doctor, a Denver obstetrician and gyne cologist, couldn’t be reached for comment. Several Steamboat physicians also declined to com ment about the viability of mari juana as a treatment method for the symptoms of autism. But as the news stories that Dickson researched indicate, she’s not the only parent who has given her autistic child med ical marijuana. One of the most well known is the story of Sam, an autistic boy in Sacramento, Calif., whose parents started giving him medical marijua na last year when he was 10 because he was starting to get violent. Sam’s father, Steve, has kept a journal detailing his son’s prog

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ress since he started using medi cal marijuana. In the most recent entry, dated Oct. 14, 2010, Steve wrote in a response to a letter that Sam was doing well. Steve said Sam takes medical marijuana only occasionally, about eight to 10 times per month, but when he does, it’s very effective at calming him down. “We are continually grateful that we stopped traditional medi cation and put Sam on” medical marijuana, Steve wrote. “I fear that Sam may not be the healthy and happy 11-year-old that he is today if we continued treating him with doctor prescribed phar maceuticals.” Some national autism organi zations have taken notice of the anecdotal stories. Kelly Vanicek, secretary of the National Autism Association Board of Directors and its research chairwoman, said the organization doesn’t endorse or discourage the use of medical marijuana. “It has been shown to have effectiveness in cases of gastroin testinal disorders, seizures, auto immune disorders and tics,” she said during a telephone interview from Rhode Island. “A lot of those issues affect children on the spectrum. I can understand if parents have exhausted tradition al treatment methods. We sug gest parents should make their decisions with licensed medical professionals.” Lu Etta Loeber, executive director of the Yampa Valley Autism Program, said the orga nization and its board have not discussed the use of medical mar ijuana to treat autism. Dickson said she gave James medical marijuana for the first two weeks of school because he was working with new teachers. Since then, she’s given it to him only as needed. She continues to monitor his behavior. “I don’t know how he feels. I don’t know how he experienc es the marijuana in his body,” Dickson said. “He never asks for it. I don’t see any kind of sub stance addiction.” Dickson said Steamboat Springs School District Super intendent Shalee Cunningham and James’ teachers know that she gives him medical marijua na on occasion. Kyle Mokma, a paraprofessional who works with James at Steamboat Springs Middle School, said he is skepti cal of the treatment method. Mokma, who studied psy chology at Western Michigan University, said applied behav ior analysis, a learning method that emphasizes the relationship between actions and consequenc es, is the only proven treatment method for autism. But Mokma said he would like to study how medical mari juana, with and without applied behavior analysis, affects James’ ability to perform tasks and con trol his behavior. He said the study could start after the first of the year. “Basically, I’m trying to demonstrate a treatment effect, whether these things help him control his aggression and stay engaged in activities,” Mokma said. “Because we haven’t had a chance to do a controlled study on medical marijuana and mea sure behaviors, I can’t say if THC is having an effect on his ability to control his aggression or perform tasks because there is no data yet.” Tetrahydrocannabinol is tho ught to be the active ingredient in marijuana. Dickson said she came for ward because she wants others to know that medical marijua na could be a viable treatment option for their autistic children. “I want the community to know about this,” she said. “It’s not just for ski bums or people making excuses for bad backs.”

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Buses to offer later service Winter transit expansion stems from city’s development discussions Mike Lawrence

PILOT & TODAY STAFF

HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY? Continue the conversation online at www.steamboatpilot.com

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The city’s free buses will offer late-night service this winter, with a final bus leaving down town at about 2:20 a.m. in a loop to the mountain area, starting Dec. 16. The Steamboat Springs MATT STENSLAND/STAFF City Council’s approval of The Steamboat Springs City Council approved spending $44,827 to extend the extended hours earlier this free, late-night Steamboat Springs Transit service to 2:20 a.m., seven days a week, from month stemmed from the city’s Dec. 16 to April 10. Winter bus service currently stops at about 1 a.m.

ongoing discussions about how to spur economic development and support the business com munity. The late-night bus ser vice also addresses recent con flicts between downtown busi ness owners — particularly of restaurants and bars that are open late — and downtown resi dents who objected to late-night

noise from bands and crowds spilling outside after bars closed. The City Council approved, in a 5-2 vote, the expenditure of $44,827 to extend free, latenight Steamboat Springs Transit service to 2:20 a.m. seven days a week from Dec. 16 to April 10. Winter bus service currently stops at about 1 a.m. City Public Works Director Philo Shelton said when the new late-night schedule kicks in, buses will leave the Stock Bridge

Town crier carries on For nearly 70 years, Lila Rider has made South Routt’s business her business

or 69 years, Lila Rider has been writing what she knows. And she has no plans to stop anytime soon. As contributing writer to the Steamboat Pilot & Today for nearly seven decades, Rider has made it her business Story by to know the of her Zach Fridell business South Routt friends and neighbors. She’s written about the comings and goings of the South Routt community as only someone who loves the town can do. Rider, now a resident of the Doak Walker Care Center in Steamboat Springs, is a de facto South Routt historian. There was a time when she knew every one who lived in Phippsburg, the small town just south of Oak Creek that she called home for many decades. While her loca tion has changed, her mission hasn’t: to write about the people and events she holds dear.

County part of airport lawsuit Tom Ross

PILOT & TODAY STAFF

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Range, said they’re an indi State aims for cation of the more pot safety growing accep See page 8A tance of medi cal marijuana. “If we had done this lecture a few years ago, I don’t think anybody would have shown up,” he said. “A few years ago, not as many people were will ing to sign up for medical mari juana cards for whatever rea son. Now, it seems, the stigma has worn off, and it is becom

Attorneys for Routt County and paving contractor Connell Resources will begin selecting a jury Monday in a million dol lar contract dispute about work done at Yampa Valley Regional Airport in 2005 and 2006. Attorneys for Connell, the plaintiff in the lawsuit, are not seeking specific monetary dam ages, but allege in their com plaint that the county cost their client more than $1 million by reneging on the terms of their contract and withholding funds. County Attorney John Mer rell said this week that he is con cerned it will be difficult to seat a jury because it involves county government and a prominent contracting firm that has done large jobs in the valley. County Commission Chair woman Nancy Stahoviak, who is on the list of prospective wit nesses for the trial, declined to comment for this article. Denver law firm Faegre and Benson filed the original com plaint on behalf of Connell in August 2009. Attorneys Kevin Bridston, of Holland & Hart in Denver, and Douglas Karet, of Holloway, Brabec and Karet in Steamboat Springs, filed a trial brief on behalf of Connell this month. Attorneys for the plaintiffs say in documents filed in Routt County District Court that the dispute has it roots in the coun ty’s desire to value-engineer proj ects at the airport in Hayden. Connell was the sole bidder on the $9.4 million project in 2005 at a time when the construction industry was booming in Routt County. That bid exceeded the

See Marijuana, page 8A

See Lawsuit, page 5A

Early days Rider was born in 1927 in Normal, Ky., and moved to Colorado with her family five

MATT STENSLAND/STAFF

After nearly seven decades, Steamboat Pilot & Today columnist Lila Rider continues to report the news from her home at the Doak Walker Care Center.

1st pot forum draws crowd Steamboat talk emblematic of growing marijuana industry Jack Weinstein

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS

About two dozen Routt County residents gathered Mon day night in the Steamboat Springs Community Center in a scene that is becoming com monplace across the state: Public forums hosted by medical mari juana supporters that focus on education, advocacy and net JOHN F. RUSSELL/STAFF Local attorney Adam Mayo speaks at a medical marijuana public meeting held working. Last week’s meeting, orga at the Steamboat Springs Community Center on Monday evening. Mayo gave insight nized by the owners of Rocky into the legal side of medical marijuana and what the confusing laws concerning the Mountain Remedies medical use of marijuana means for patients.

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Transit Center for downtown and then the mountain area at 1, 1:20, 1:40, 2 and 2:20 a.m. He said the capacity of a city bus is about 60, including 30 seats and room for 30 people standing. City Finance Director Deb Hinsvark said funds for the latenight service could come from excess mineral lease and sever ance tax revenues collected this

Issues in Routt County

marijuana center and their attor ney Adam Mayo, was the first of its kind in Steamboat. The 90-minute gathering focused primarily on new medi cal marijuana legislation and legal issues for card-carrying patients. Mayo, who has participated in similar meetings on the Front

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Colorado aims for stronger pot safety State to be 1st to regulate production Kristen Wyatt

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What’s in that joint, and how can you be sure it’s safe? Colorado is working toward becoming the first state to regulate production of medical marijuana. Regulators say pot consumers deserve to know what they’re smoking, and producers should have safety regulations such as pesticide limits for plants. Right now, patients have no way to verify pot-shop claims that certain products are organic, or how potent a strain might be. “You don’t go into a Walgreens with a headache and put on a blindfold and pick something off a shelf. But that’s what some people are doing when they buy marijuana,” said Buckie Minor, of Full Spectrum Laboratories in Denver, which currently does voluntary marijuana analysis for about 100 growers and dispensaries. Minor and others in the pot business said industry standards are needed. But Colorado officials are having a tough time writing regulations for a product that’s never been scrutinized or safety-tested before. New Mexico requires marijuana products to be labeled by strain and potency, and is planning by the end of the year to allow health inspectors to review samples. But currently none of the 14 states that allow medical marijuana regulate how it’s grown.

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Spending on 2010 shopping holiday only 0.3 percent more than in 2009 Eileen AJ Connelly THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

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Shoppers crowded stores on Black Friday but spent just a little more than last year on the traditional start of the holiday shopping season, according to data released Saturday by a research firm. Retail spending increased a slight 0.3 percent, to $10.69 billion, compared with $10.66 billion on the day after Thanksgiving last year, according to ShopperTrak. Two factors behind the slim increase, a disappointment following bullish reports from stores Friday, were heavy discounts earlier in November and online shopping, which saw a big increase. Chicago research firm Shop pertrak, which tallies sales in more than 70,000 retail outlets across the country, said the total was still a record for the day. It stood behind its prediction for spending to increase 3.2 percent for the season. “It’s hard to say Black Friday wasn’t a success, it’s just not the success we saw in the mid-2000s, when the day really became a phenomenon,” ShopperTrak founder Bill Martin said. The slim sales increase came despite a 2.2 percent boost in store traffic, which Martin said suggests that consumers were in the stores searching for deals. “This means the American shop-

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Dressed for the cold, Nathan Vera, 2, from Los Angeles, rides on his father Miguel Vera’s shoulders while the two waited in line at the Baby Gap store in Costa Mesa, Calif., where Black Friday shoppers were treated to 50 percent off everything in the store until 10 a.m.

per has adapted to the economic climate over the last couple of years and is possibly spending more wisely as the holiday season begins,” Martin said. ShopperTrak said spending for first two weeks of the month increased 6.1 percent from last year, as retailers promoted the sort of doorbuster deals that typically didn’t appear until after the turkey dinner was finished. Traffic in stores during the two weeks ending Nov. 13 jumped 6.2 percent.

Attorney discusses medical marijuana cardholder rights Marijuana continued from 1A ing more accepted.” Mayo appears to be seeking to carve out a niche in the medical marijuana industry. The Cannabis Therapy Institute, a medical marijuana education and advocacy group, invited him

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to speak last month in Boulder about his patient collect model. The model would allow patients to grow medical marijuana together in spaces that would function similar to a community garden. He has another presentation scheduled for Wednesday in Denver. On Monday, however, much of the focus was on existing laws and misinformation, said Kevin Fisher, co-owner of Steamboat’s Rocky Mountain Remedies. “It’s what we’ve always tried to do at RMR — educate and help out the community,” he said. Mayo used the forum to discuss medical marijuana patient rights. He advised attendees to not allow law enforcement officers to enter their homes unless they have warrants, and to not reveal during traffic stops that they are a medical marijuana cardholder unless pot is found. He also discussed provisions of the state’s new medical marijuana legislation, such as caregivers not being able to grow in a shared space, and caregivers

being restricted to serving five patients. Several of the people who attended Monday’s meeting were pleased that it was held in Steamboat. “I wanted to get informational resources to see if anything else was going on, to see if anything else has changed,” said Hayden resident Charish Adams, a medical marijuana cardholder. “I think (the meeting) is great. I think they should do it more.” Steamboat resident Ray Thomas, a medical marijuana caregiver, said he, too, had legal questions. “Basically, I wanted to see where we stood with the new laws for caregivers,” he said. “It was very informative. (Mayo) was very upfront with everything. And I was satisfied with what he had to say.” Mayo said he wished more people would have attended the meeting, but he considered it a success nonetheless. He thinks that as more people want to learn about Colorado’s medi-

cal marijuana industry, similar meetings could become more common in Steamboat. Kevin Fisher and Ryan Fisher, the Rocky Mountain Remedies co-owners, said they are considering a private festival-type gathering for medical marijuana cardholders in which all proceeds would be donated to a local charity. Ryan Fisher said they want to get more involved in the community. “Especially because of what business we’re in, to get it out there that we’re normal community members,” he said. According to the most recent estimate by the Colorado De partment of Public Health and Environment, there are 108,000 registered medical marijuana patients across the state. There also are 809 marijuana dispensaries, with Rocky Mountain Remedies being among the largest 5 percent based on number of patients served. — To reach Jack Weinstein, call 871-4203 or e-mail jweinstein@steamboatpilot.com

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“There’s no experience with this,” said Dr. Alan Shackelford, a Denver physician heading up Colorado’s effort to write labeling and safety regulations. Colorado hopes to have in place by early next year a labeling and inspection standard for marijuana sold commercially, under provisions of a new state law. But it’s a daunting task. Physicians, pot shop owners and state regulators say standards are needed but guidelines don’t exist. Some of the questions: ■ Should marijuana sellers be able to attach medical claims to their products? What if no research exists to back up a claim that a certain strain of pot is best for, say, pain or nausea? ■ Should medical pot be labeled by potency? Patients using over-the-counter and prescription drugs can read the medicine’s ingredients, but no analogy exists for pot’s active ingredient, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. ■ What about chemicals, such as pesticides or fertilizers, used on marijuana plants? Should those be limited, as they are for food and tobacco? ■ Agencies that routinely inspect farms, restaurants and pharmaceutical factories have no experience regulating pot. Can they be tapped to inspect marijuana grows? ■ What happens if someone gets sick from medical marijuana? Should growing operations have guidelines to limit contamination, such as mildew and mold?

Retail sales rise on Black Friday

year. The city received about $208,000 in those funds, which are given to local governments affected by energy development. The City Council gave initial support Nov. 16 to an allocation of $71,000 of those revenues for grant matches, meaning that with the allocation of nearly $45,000 for late-night bus service, about $92,000 of the funds remain unused. Hinsvark said she would have to examine the city’s entire budget — which is strapped by declining sales tax revenues — before determining any future allocation of the $92,000. “I need to do a macro look before we use that,” Hinsvark said. Use of the entire $44,827 for the late-night bus service is not definite. Council members Walter Magill and Bart Kounovsky voted against the expenditure Tuesday, preferring an option that Shelton said would cost $19,700 and offer late-night service only on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights from Dec. 16 to April 9. Shelton said transit staff would review ridership numbers for the late-night service this win-

ter, likely in February, to determine whether the service should continue through April 10. He noted that winter bus schedules already have been printed, meaning publicizing the late-night service could be a challenge. He said the late-night runs would be added to schedules either with an insert or some kind of “sticky note.” Shelton also noted that the new bus shelters along Lincoln Avenue have posted schedules, and members of the local hospitality industry will be aware of the new information to pass on to visitors.

Night noise Key stakeholders in the downtown business environment and local law enforcement worked with the Californiabased Responsible Hospitality Institute to address nighttime noise issues in a Denver forum in summer and in a Steamboat Springs visit in fall. “The No. 1 recommendation that came down from the Res ponsible Hospitality Institute visit was solid late-night transportation,” Councilman Jon Quinn said. “This is a great step for the city to take.” Magill speculated that the late-night bus service potentially could pay for itself through

sales tax revenues from bar business shortly before closing time. Amy Garris, owner of Ghost Ranch Saloon, made that point Nov. 9 in Olympian Hall at Howelsen Hill during City Council’s public forum about economic development. “People really do a lot of their biggest spending at that late-night hour,” Garris said, speaking in favor of increased late-night transit service that could keep patrons in bars longer. Garris said the Ghost Ranch spent an “absolute fortune in legal fees” contesting a July citation for alleged violation of a city noise ordinance. The citation followed a call from a Howelsen Place resident during a Friday night concert at the Ghost Ranch, which is across Seventh Street from the caller’s home. City Council President Cari Hermacinski said she hopes to frequently see economic development ideas, such as late-night bus service, result in items on City Council agendas. “We’re hoping to have actionable items every month,” she said. — To reach Mike Lawrence, call 871-4233 or e-mail mlawrence@steamboatpilot.com

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Friedman must pay $44,301 Chadwick member liable in ongoing real estate lawsuit Mike Lawrence

PILOT & TODAY STAFF

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS

A Tuesday court ruling ordered Richard Friedman, of Chadwick Real Estate Group and other entities, to pay more than $44,000 to Florida developer Stephen Bunyard’s First Land Development. The ruling also said Friedman doesn’t owe First Land a separate amount of Friedman $245,000. The order by Judge Shelley Hill in Routt County District Court marks the latest step in real estate dealings and litigation that stretch back several years and provide a backdrop to the October arrest of part-time Steamboat Springs resident Brooks Kellogg, managing member of Chadwick Estates. Friedman was out of the state Wednesday and did not return a cell phone message. See Friedman, back page

JOHN F. RUSSELL/STAFF

Brent Mundy manages Aloha’s medical marijuana dispensary in Milner. Aloha’s is looking into whether it can add more locations, including one in Steamboat Springs.

Pot law opinions mixed

Dispensary owners divided about proposed marijuana statute Jack Weinstein

PILOT & TODAY STAFF

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS

Corrections Shelby Dyer is a senior at The Lowell Whiteman School. Her school was misidentified in the story “Collected chaos” on page 1 of Wednesday’s Steamboat Today. Rodney Williams III appeared in Routt County Court on Wednesday. The story “Police fight ends in 8 charges” on page 11 of Wednesday’s Steamboat Today listed the incorrect court.

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New medical marijuana legislation introduced this month by state lawmakers has positives and negatives, local dispensary owners said. House Bill 1043 would prohibit only those who have been convicted of a felony drug offense in the past five years from being issued a business license, instead of anyone who has ever been convicted of a

drug felony. It also imposes two-year residency requirements only on owners, not all employees. Those are two positive changes, owners said. The bill also would require that a primary caregiver, a person who provides medical marijuana for a limited number of

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patients, must register the grow location and all patient identification numbers — a negative change, the dispensary owners said. Kevin Fisher, co-owner of Rocky Mountain Remedies in Steamboat Springs, said the state constitution includes privacy protections for patients. He said the state’s medical marijuana laws that were passed last year undo those protections. Owners “give up our statutory rights, but for a patient to

buy meds in a dispensary, they shouldn’t have to,” Fisher said. “If you ask me, there are a couple of good things in (House Bill 1043), but a lot of bad. They’re still chipping away at freedoms.” JJ Southard, operations supervisor for Natural Choice in Steamboat, said some parts of the new legislation would clear up existing law. “I think it helps to clarify a lot of the loose ends in (House See Dispensaries, back page

■ WEATHER Sun and some clouds. High of 36.

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First Land has been involved in litigation against Chadwick entities since 2004. Tuesday’s court ruling is related to the $2.38 million judgment that First Land won in June 2010 against Chadwick Estates and Kellogg. Friedman is not personally named in that judgment. But lawyer Reed Morris, of Kellogg The Law Office of Ralph A. Cantafio, representing First Land, has said because they’ve received no payment on that judgment — the $44,301 ordered Tuesday could be the first — his firm is pursuing funds from those, such as Friedman, whom they allege owe money to

against Mr. Friedman,” he said. Chadwick Estates. Regarding the $245,000, Morris stated two claims in a Dec. 14 hearing at the Routt Friedman has stated in court County Justice Center: one, that obligations for Lindberg’s that Friedman owes First Land condo were transferred April 29, 2010, to Chadwick for a $44,301 loan Friedman “was both Real Estate Group, he received from removing his perChadwick Estates; the giver and the sonal obligation to and two, that taker of the loan Chadwick Estates. Friedman assumed amounts and the personal responsiAccording to person who decided Friedman, that bility for an additional $245,000 how the amounts transfer occurred owed to Chadwick three days after were booked.” Estates — from the April 26, 2010, sale of a Chadwick when Kellogg and Shelley Hill villa to Julienne Friedman each Routt County District Court Lindberg, Kellogg’s assumed personal, judge sister — and therelegal liability for fore owes that obligations related money to First Land, as well. to Lindberg’s condo. The condo Hill’s Tuesday ruling upheld was sold to her in a “straw the former claim and denied the transfer” when units apparently latter. were not selling as anticipated, Friedman denied both according to court documents. claims Dec. 14. He said that Morris has disputed the the $44,301 initially was clas- validity of the transfer of oblisified as a loan — it’s reflected gation to Chadwick Real Estate as such on Chadwick’s 2009 tax Group. Morris said Wednesday returns, Hill stated — but that that throughout the legal prolater, in 2010, the amount was ceedings, Friedman has testireclassified as personal income fied “on behalf of four different for Friedman, and thus was not enterprises and himself.” owed to Chadwick Estates. Both Chadwick Estates and “The court was presented no Chadwick Real Estate Group documents of Chadwick reflectconsist of BLK and RAF, two ing this reclassification,” the rulseparate LLCs. RAF channels ing states. funds to Friedman and his wife. Later in her ruling, Hill noted BLK channels funds at least to the link between Friedman and Kellogg. his business entities. Kellogg was arrested Oct. 19 “The court cannot overlook the fact that Mr. Friedman is the at Denver International Airport managing director of Chadwick on suspicion of trying to pay Estates,” Hill’s ruling states. “He for the killing of Bunyard. was both the giver and the taker Kellogg’s trial is scheduled to of the loan amounts and the begin March 7. Motions are person who decided how the due in writing Feb. 7, and a pretrial motions hearing is schedamounts were booked.” Morris said the ruling now uled for Feb. 25 in U.S. District is subject to a 15-day automatic Court in Denver. stay. “We’ll be seeking that the — To reach Mike Lawrence, call 970-871-4233 or e-mail mlawrence@SteamboatToday.com court add attorney’s fees …

Owner wants more shops Dispensaries continued from 1 Bill) 1284,” he said, referring to last year’s legislation that became the state’s medical marijuana law. Other provisions in House Bill 1043, which has not yet seen action, could be considered industry-friendly. Rep. Tom Massey, who introduced the bill, told The Denver Post this month that it was drafted from feedback provided by medical marijuana business owners, state regulatory officials and law enforcement. “We’re trying to do everything we can to make this a more workable system for the state,” said Massey, a Poncha Springs Republican. Chris Ward, who owns Aloha’s in Milner, is looking

into adding additional locations — he asked the Steamboat Springs City Council last week to consider allowing another dispensary. His request will have to wait until after July 1, when a statewide moratorium on new dispensaries is scheduled to expire, but wouldn’t be affected by the new legislation. The city’s rules allow only the three existing dispensaries. City staff attorney Dan Foote said a new medical marijuana ordinance, which doesn’t include allowing more dispensaries, would be presented to the Routt County Planning Commission on Feb. 10. He said the City Council would consider the ordinance March 2. — To reach Jack Weinstein, call 970-871-4203 or e-mail jweinstein@SteamboatToday.com

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INSIDE: Hayden girls fall in 1st round of state tournament, 63-56, but play again today • page 35

Jobless rate up in Routt

Prepare for landing

Blythe Terrell

PILOT & TODAY STAFF

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS

The unemployment rate in Routt County increased from 7.9 percent in December to 8.6 percent in January. The figures, released Thursday by the Colorado Department of Labor Online and EmployView county-byment, show an county jobless increase from figures and the 1,183 people statewide information unemployed in online with December to this story at 1,321 unemSteamboatToday. ployed in Jancom. uary. The numbers haven’t yet been adjusted for typical seasonal changes. Brian Bradbury, employment specialist at the Colorado Workforce Center’s branch in Steamboat Springs, said it’s not uncommon to see an increase in unemployment in January. “A lot of times we had people come in where the businesses were laying them off for a short time in January, and they would pick them up again when the season got a little stronger,” Bradbury said. January’s unemployment figure also is an increase from the 8.2 percent rate in January 2010. In December, 13,867 people were employed out of a work force of 15,050. In January 2011, 13,954 people were employed out of a labor force of 15,275. In January 2010, 14,123 people had jobs in Routt County. More striking, Bradbury said, is that Moffat County’s See Unemployment, page 12

■ INDEX Briefs . . . . . . . . .10 Classifieds . . . . .40 Colorado. . . . . . .27 Comics . . . . . . . .46 Crossword . . . . .46 Happenings . . . . .7

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John Bodeau looks to land a trick off the rail on the slopestyle course at Steamboat Ski Area on Thursday. Bodeau was competing in the Freestyle Junior Nationals, which are taking place in Steamboat Springs this week. The competition will continue today on Mayer’s Mogul Run on Voo Doo ski run.

Marijuana ads questioned

Planning Commission asks City Council to consider restrictions Mike Lawrence

Several city planning commissioners showed support Thursday evening for restricting print advertising for medical marijuana centers in Steamboat Springs, some citing concerns as parents

and potential impacts on children. “I just don’t like the impression that the print advertising is giving the youth in this community on marijuana in general,” said Steamboat Springs Planning Commissioner Cedar Beauregard, a father of young children. Ads “are crossing the line

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between medication and recreation.” The discussion arose in Centennial Hall during a Planning Commission public hearing about proposed changes to the city’s regulations for medical marijuana centers. Some of the proposed revisions involve a definition-related change to medical

marijuana centers, rather than dispensaries, to allow licensed centers to also hold licenses for off-premises marijuana cultivation and infused product manufacturing. City staff attorney Dan Foote said a license for a center would be required for a See Ads, back page

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Much of discussion focuses on Aloha’s ‘lighthearted’ advertising license for cultivation or product manufacturing, meaning the city’s cap of three licensed centers is not proposed to change. Revisions also address primary caregivers and land-use regulations. City staff is recommending that infused product manufacturing and cultivation operations be permitted to operate in homes if they meet home occupation criteria, such as building and fire code compliance and inspections. Many of the changes align the city’s regulations with state legislation adopted last year. The Planning Commission voted, 6-0, in support of the revisions. Commissioners Rich Levy and Troy Brookshire were absent Thursday. Commissioner alternate Jennifer Robbins attended. The Steamboat Springs City Council is scheduled to address the revisions in a first reading April 5. The council could be faced with a discussion of print advertising, as well. “I would like to see some kind of limitations,” Planning Commission Chairman Jason Lacy said, adding that he was referring only to print ads within the

city, not radio, and suggesting that ads could be limited to a center’s name, location and hours of operation. “No one wants to recommend anything that would be in violation of the First Amendment.” No one, including Foote, had a definitive answer Thursday regarding legal questions about print ad restrictions. Foote said First Amendment law on commercial speech states that print ads can be regulated if they promote unlawful activity, and he noted that medical marijuana use is lawful under Colorado law, but not under federal law. “The fact that marijuana is still illegal under federal law creates the possibility that we could restrict the advertising,” Foote speculated. “That is not true for other prescription drugs.” In response to a question from Planning Commissioner Kathi Meyer, Foote said he was not aware of any other jurisdiction in the state that regulates medical marijuana advertising. “I just worry that we’re going to be back here in six months with potential litigation,” Meyer said. “I would just hate for us to be the guinea pig out there.” Beauregard, Lacy, Robbins and Cynthia Slavik expressed

general support for restrictions. Meyer did not, and Commissioner Brian Hanlen had reservations. “To me, it sounds like a problematic thing to enforce well,” Hanlen said. Beauregard’s resolve, though, strengthened as the discussion continued. “I would feel comfortable (with ads) saying this is a medical marijuana store, and that’s it,” he said. A few minutes later, Beauregard stated: “I’d personally feel comfortable banning it altogether in print.” “It might be easier to just say, ‘no print advertising in the city,’” Slavik said. Robbins and Lacy said they would not be comfortable with outright bans. Foote said he was not yet comfortable saying such a position would be legally defensible. After the meeting, Beauregard clarified that Planning Commission was merely making a request. “We’re just recommending to City Council that this is a concern of ours — please look into it,” he said.

Parental discretion Much of Thursday’s discussion cited advertising by Aloha’s,

a medical marijuana center in Milner. Aloha’s has local radio ads featuring impersonators of Richard “Cheech” Marin and Tommy Chong, who have been marijuana advocates for decades. Aloha’s also runs ads that detail the center’s marijuana menu. Kevin Fisher, co-owner of Rocky Mountain Remedies, said he doesn’t agree with the tone of Aloha’s ads. “We try to keep our advertising not like the county advertising,” Fisher said in Centennial Hall, making a reference to Aloha’s. “We get a lot of complaints from our patients about the county advertising and what it’s doing to the medical marijuana industry.” In response to some commissioners’ concerns about advertising’s impacts on children, Fisher cited abundant local advertising for liquor stores and bars. “I think liquor has a far greater societal impact than medical marijuana,” Fisher said. “The notion that our kids are going to be safer because we don’t have medical marijuana ads … seems a bit hypocritical.” Aloha’s owner Chris Ward said Thursday night that he’s heard mostly positive reviews of his radio and print ads.

“Mostly, people like the funniness and the lightheartedness of it all,” Ward said. He noted that non-medical marijuana remains illegal for all and that medical marijuana is illegal for children. “That’s a parent’s issue at that point. It’s not my issue,” Ward said. He expressed disdain for arguments citing children. “I think that’s a really cheap cop-out on someone’s part, a copout on parenting,” he said. “I have five kids of my own, so I don’t even want to hear that from anybody.” Ward said his children are 16, 8, 6, 4 and 18 months. He said he’s had many discussions about drugs with his 16-year-old, and he plans to have the same discussions with his other children when they’re older. JJ Southard, of the Natural Choice center, said print advertising could help reach newcomers and visitors. “Advertising in the paper gives us a chance to offer our services to people from the Front Range,” Southard said. “The advertising does help a lot, and it helps people who are truly sick and need the health benefits when they come up here.”

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Editorial Board Scott Stanford, general manager Brent Boyer, editor Tom Ross, reporter Traci Day, community representative Dean Vogelaar, community representative

Steamboat Springs, Colorado • Sunday, March 13, 2011 SteamboatToday.com

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The global economy

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Defending the right to free speech

Mark Udall

For the Pilot & Today

he Steamboat Springs Planning Commission’s interest in restricting the rights of medical marijuana centers to advertise their businesses and products in print media would clearly represent a violation of the Colorado state constitution as well as the First Amendment. at issue We hope the Steamboat Medical Springs City Council is wise marijuana enough to dismiss such a ridicadvertising ulous attempt to stifle free restrictions speech. Full transparency is in order: The Steamboat Pilot our view & Today sells print advertisPlanning ing space to the five medical Commission marijuana centers that opersuggestions ate in Routt County. The total would lead to revenue from that advertising unconstitutional equals one-third of 1 percent of all print advertising revenue restrictions on for the Pilot & Today. free speech. This isn’t about the potential for lost revenue for the newspaper; it’s about upholding the First Amendment. And to that end, we were shocked at the comments of some Planning Commission members Thursday. During a meeting to discuss proposed changes to the city’s regulations for medical marijuana centers, several commissioners expressed concerns about the content of some medical marijuana print advertisements, specifically the impact the advertisements could have on children. “I just don’t like the impression that the print advertising is giving the youth in this community on marijuana in general,” said Planning Commissioner Cedar Beauregard. He said ads “are crossing the line between medication and recreation.” Later in the meeting, Beauregard said he’d “personally feel comfortable banning it altogether in print.” Commission Chairman Jason Lacy said he’d like to see some limitations on print advertising, perhaps limiting the content of the ads to just the medical marijuana center’s name, location and hours of operation. Lacy seemed to be OK with medical marijuana radio ads. “No one wants to recommend anything that would be in violation of the First Amendment,” Lacy said. Of course, that’s precisely what he recommended. City government does not have the legal authority to regulate the content of commercial speech. Put simply, government can’t seek to control the message of commercial speech so long as the speech is for a legal activity or product. Lest our Planning Commission forget, Colorado voters made medical marijuana legal in 2000. Here in Routt County, 65 percent of voters supported Amendment 20. There is, however, an avenue for government to restrict commercial speech not related to an illegal activity, and that’s if the government can narrowly tailor the regulation of such speech so that it directly advances an important government interest. The federal government has been successful in employing such regulations to tobacco advertising, and that’s because there’s overwhelming evidence of the harm tobacco use causes to health. We doubt the city of Steamboat Springs has overwhelming evidence that demonstrates the important government interest in regulating the commercial speech of medical marijuana centers. And even if it did, the city would have to apply the regulation to all forms of commercial speech — print and broadcast media, for example — not just one of them. Also at Thursday’s meeting, city staff attorney Dan Foote suggested that because medical marijuana remains illegal under federal law, the city may have standing to regulate print advertisements. He’s wrong. The city of Steamboat Springs is a subdivision of the state of Colorado, and in Colorado, medical marijuana is legal. The story might be different if Congress were enacting legislation about marijuana advertising. It’s not. Moreover, Colorado’s constitution offers broader free speech protections than the federal constitution does. If some members of the Planning Commission are concerned about the affect medical marijuana centers and their advertising might be having on their children, then they should spend their energy lobbying the Legislature and the people of Colorado to overturn Amendment 20. Violating the First Amendment rights of legal businesses to advertise their products certainly invites litigation, but it won’t make medical marijuana or its affects on the community go away.

letter to the editor Flowers bring hope It is that time of year again when we eagerly look forward to longer days, warmer temperatures, melting snow and daffodils. Northwest Colorado Visiting Nurse Association’s annual, beloved Hospice Daffodil fundraising event is almost here. On Tuesday, the beautiful sight of warm, yellow flowers will make its way across the Yampa Valley. The flowers will show up in homes, grocery stores, restaurants and businesses in Steamboat Springs, Craig, Hayden, Oak Creek, Clark and everywhere in between. They symbolize both the hope for a brighter, warmer spring season as well as hope for support, comfort, dignity and

peace for those we love entering their final season of life. Our local hospice organization provides just that. Hospice care is available to any resident of Routt or Moffat County who has been diagnosed with an illness that, if followed a predicted course, would result in a prognosis of six months or fewer to live. Hospice is provided in homes, skilled nursing facilities, assisted living facilities, hospitals and at the Rollingstone Respite House. A team of staff members and volunteers work together to help meet the physical, psychological, social and spiritual needs of the patient and his or her family. Bereavement services are provided to the family of a hospice patient for 13 months following their loved

one’s death. Services are provided to all who qualify, regardless of the ability to pay. Hospice relies heavily upon its two annual fundraisers, the Daffodil drive on Tuesday and the Dinner and Golf Tournament on June 13 and 14, as well as the donations from our community members. So, as you wake up Tuesday and pass the volunteers who are selling our daffodils, give yourself the gift of a promised spring and give others the gift of comfort and dignity during their final season.

Shannon Winegarner, RN

Director of Hospice and Palliative Care, Northwest Colorado Visiting Nurse Association

commentary

The modesty manifesto David Brooks

The New York Times

We’re an overconfident species. Ninety-four percent of college professors think they have above average teaching skills. A survey of high school students found that 70 percent of them have above average leadership skills and only 2 percent are below average. Men tend to be especially blessed with self-esteem. Brooks Men are the victims of unintentional drowning more than twice as often as women. That’s because men have tremendous faith in their own swimming ability, especially after they’ve been drinking. Americans are similarly endowed with self-esteem. When pollsters ask people across the world to rate themselves on a variety of traits, they find that people in Serbia, Chile, Israel and the United States generally supply the most positive views of themselves. People in South Korea, Switzerland, Japan, Taiwan and Morocco are on the humble side of the rankings.

Yet even from this high base, there is some evidence to suggest that Americans have taken selfapproval up a notch in the past few decades. Start with the anecdotal evidence. It would have been unthinkable for a baseball player to celebrate himself in the batter’s box after a homerun swing. Now it’s not unusual. A few decades ago, pop singers didn’t compose anthems to their own prowess; now those songs dominate the charts. American students no longer perform particularly well in global math tests. But Americans are among the world leaders when it comes to thinking that we are really good at math. Students in the Middle East, Africa and the United States have the greatest faith in their math skills. Students in Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan have much less self-confidence, though they actually do better on the tests. In a variety of books and articles, Jean M. Twenge, of San Diego State University, and W. Keith Campbell, of the University of Georgia, have collected data suggesting that American self-confidence has risen of late.

College students today are much more likely to agree with statements like “I am easy to like” than college students 30 years ago. In the 1950s, 12 percent of high school seniors said they were a “very important person.” By the ’90s, 80 percent said they thought that they were. In short, there’s abundant evidence to suggest that we have shifted a bit from a culture that emphasized self-effacement — I’m no better than anybody else, but nobody is better than me — to a culture that emphasizes selfexpansion. Writers like Twenge point out that young people are bathed in messages telling them how special they are. Often these messages are untethered to evidence of actual merit. In the past few decades, for example, the number of hours college students spend studying has steadily declined. Meanwhile, the average GPA has steadily risen. Some argue that today’s childrearing and educational techniques have produced praise addicts. Roni Caryn Rabin, of The New York Times, recently reported on some research that See Brooks, page 7A

As I’ve traveled across our state in the last two years, Coloradans from Southern Colorado to the Western Slope and to the Eastern Plains have told me that they think the focus in Washington, D.C., should be on two things — the economy and getting our spending under control. They want to know when the jobs are going to come back and when our budget will be balanced. UnemployUdall ment remains stubbornly high. Add that to government spending that has spun out of control and you have the perfect storm. The government can’t create the jobs we need; only the private sector can. That is why my focus as senator is putting the right policies in place to make sure businesses have the tools to succeed, while making sure that our government is as lean and responsive to our economic needs as possible. Our debt is one of the greatest threats to the long-term success of our country, and our interest payments are quickly inhibiting our ability to invest in America. I’m fighting for measures that would restore sanity to federal budgeting by strengthening Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare, paying down our debt and reining in government spending. The president should have the ability to eliminate wasteful spending with a line-item veto. And we should do away with earmarks permanently and require Congress to balance the federal budget. In pursuit of fiscal discipline, however, we must be careful not to eat our seed corn or lose sight of what made our country the global economic leader. The goal shouldn’t be to make government smaller but to make it smarter. Let’s continue those federal investments in innovation, education and infrastructure that will help our economy grow and enable our communities to attract new businesses, but scrap overlapping and unnecessary programs and regulations. Let’s create an environment for entrepreneurship and produce an educated and trained work force ready to compete in a rapidly changing global marketplace. Let’s encourage the innovators and inventors who are creating the jobs of the future, whether by reforming the tax code or by supporting policies that help bring their ideas to market. America has tremendous potential for growth, as we’ve demonstrated many times in our past. Colorado in particular has nurtured new ideas — from supporting creative ways to educate children to developing new methods of generating energy. We can help usher in a new era of growth with the See Udall, page 7A

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INSIDE: 3 Steamboat police officers are commended for their actions to save a suicidal man • page 16

Police captain calls for pot ban Mike Lawrence

PILOT & TODAY STAFF

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS

Capt. Joel Rae, of the Steamboat Springs Police Department, asked city officials Tuesday night to consider an outright ban of medical marijuana sellers in Steamboat Springs. Rae cited For more statistics that show dramatCouncil hears passionate ic increases in public comments statewide cases about potential for driving un noise ordinance. der the influence See page 15 of drugs since 2009, when the medical marijuana industry began to boom in Colorado. Rae also said Steamboat police are encountering more marijuana in arrests and on city streets. He said the marijuana often is held by people without cards permitting medical use but often is in containers indicating the marijuana came from a local dispensary. “There is a huge influx of DUID cases happening all over the state of Colorado,” Rae told the Steamboat Springs City Council in Centennial Hall. “Locally, there’s a 64 percent increase in DUID cases from 2009 to 2010.” City Council conducted a first reading Tuesday night of revised medical marijuana regulations. Many of the changes align the city’s regulations with state legislation adopted last year. City Council voted, 6-1, to not implement restrictions on print advertising for the industry, which See Council, page 24

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Steamboat Springs High School student Kyle Cavaretta uses a computer in the teen room Tuesday at Bud Werner Memorial Library. A man is accused of stabbing another teen through the hands in an incident Monday.

Calm returns to library

Altercation, stabbing Monday described as random, isolated incident Matt Stensland

Tuesday was just another day after school at Bud Werner Memorial Library for Sam McClure. The Steamboat Springs Middle School seventh-grader said he is at the library five times a week, and he could be found in his usual spot in the teen area

playing computer games or working on homework. “More quiet than usual,” Sam said. “Probably because of what happened.” Huber Sam said he had been in the teen reading area a day earlier at about the same time, when he heard noise coming from the balcony above.

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He would learn later that a classmate had been stabbed in the hands. “I saw the whole thing from right here,” Sam said. “We thought they were playing.” Sam said he saw a man, who had been sleeping by the window, try to lift one of his classmates over the railing. “Then I saw the blade when he was walking away, and that’s when I got scared,” Sam said.

Despite the incident Monday, after talking to his parents, Sam was not concerned. “They said, ‘Don’t worry, these things don’t happen much,’” Sam said. Police suspect that Adam Crawford Huber, 40, was sleeping in the library, and he woke to confront a group of three boys ages 13 to 16 who See Library, page 24

■ weather Cloudy with rain. High of 48.

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witnesses said were being loud and obnoxious. Steamboat police Detective Dave Kleiber said Tuesday that witnesses said Huber’s demeanor was “very calm, very much (matter) of fact, not threatening, not loud.” It is unclear how the situation escalated, Kleiber said, but police think Huber grabbed a boy by the wrist, according to an affidavit filed by Steamboat Springs Police Department officer Doug Scherar. The boys then began laughing at Huber, and Huber put a boy in a headlock, according to the affidavit. At one point, Huber grabbed the boy’s legs and tried to throw him over the balcony, the affidavit states. The 14-year-old then jumped on Huber and put him in a headlock. Police think Huber pulled a knife and stabbed the boy in his hands. Huber walked down from the balcony, where library staff met him and escorted him to an office. The 14-year-old was treated at Yampa Valley Medical Center for puncture wounds to his hands and is expected to recover, Kleiber said. “His hands are all bandaged up, but he seems to be in pretty good spirits,” he said. Kleiber said Huber was found with a pocketknife and multitool, and he declined to be interviewed by police. Police and others say Monday’s stabbing was a random, isolated incident that could happen anywhere.

“I think Steamboat is part of America, and there are so many people who want to believe you are living in a Shangri-La here, but the same bad things that happen in America happen here, and they happen at about the same frequency in relation to the size of our population,” Kleiber said. Despite Monday’s incident, the library was busy with patrons. “I feel safe in the library like always,” Steamboat Springs High School junior Kyle Cavaretta said. Some parents were still comfortable leaving their teens at the library. “Both my boys go there all the time, and I have no issues at all,” said Dave McClure, Sam’s father. “They’ll be safe. I’m not feeling uneasy at all.” Library Director Chris Painter described the library as peaceful and calm Tuesday, though senior staff members were in meetings much of the day tending to business and discussing Monday’s incident. Painter said that she was stunned by the incident and that efforts are being made to make sure staff members are educated about procedures and how to deal with problems. Painter and police say library staff members should be commended for how they handled the incident. “A situation like this provides an opportunity for learning,” Painter said. “I absolutely want to do everything in my power so people feel safe. It’s still our hometown library, and it was a very unusual and random incident and a very unfortunate one.”

Bail set for suspect Steamboat SpringS

Bail was set at $100,000 Tuesday for the man accused of stabbing a teenager in the hands at Bud Werner Memorial Library. Adam Crawford Huber, 40, was arrested Monday on suspicion of second-degree assault and attempted first-degree assault. Both are Class 4 felonies. Huber appeared in Routt County Court on Tuesday before Judge James Garrecht, who advised Huber of his rights via video conferencing. The Routt County District Attorney’s Office had not filed charges yet, but Deputy District Attorney Rusty Prindle told the court Huber would be charged with second-degree assault. “There may be additional charges filed, but we will have to review all the reports,” Prindle said. Prindle recommended Huber’s bail be set at $20,000. “I guess I view this more harshly than the DA’s office does,” Garrecht said. “I’m going to set bond at $100,000.” Huber, who is thought to have lived in Steamboat for about the past year at various locations, had not retained a lawyer, and he is scheduled to return to court at 1 p.m. today. About 20 people who said they were friends and supporters of Huber’s — some said they had lived with him — attended Tuesday’s hearing. That included Chris Spradlin, pastor of Euzoa Bible Church. Huber had attended his church for about the past year, and Spradlin said he wanted to go to the hearing because he liked Huber. “I’m not going because I know what happened,” Spradlin said. “I said I’m going because I like him and believe in him. He’s a pretty good guy. He may have made a dumb decision. I don’t know. I guess the courts can figure some of that out.” — Matt Stensland

Council members ask for ban information

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the Steamboat Springs Planning Commission suggested last month. Councilwoman Meg Bentley voted in support of ad restrictions. City Council also expressed support for staff recommendations that infused product manufacturing and cultivation operations be permitted to operate in homes if they meet home occupation criteria, such as building and fire code compliance. City Council voted against, however, adding a fourth license — beyond the city’s current cap of three dispensary licenses — to accommodate home-based infused product manufacturer Lisa Kamieniecki, who wants to continue her business independent of the city’s three licensed medical marijuana centers. Kamieniecki told City Council she has a state license for the business. City staff attorney Dan Foote said Kamieniecki requested a city license last year and was denied because of the city’s cap. Council’s discussions about

the revisions continued past 11 p.m. Tuesday. Approval at a second public reading is needed for the revisions to become city law, but the ordinance’s future is uncertain — City Council members said they were surprised by Tuesday’s unexpected calls for a ban of local dispensaries. Dr. Brian Harrington, of Yampa Valley Medical Associates, also made that request, saying the industry is based on false pretenses and debatable medical value. “I recommend that you ban these dispensaries,” Harrington said. “Don’t let Steamboat be an experimental ground for something that is not figured out and is a danger to our community.” When City Council President Cari Hermacinski asked Rae if he was asking for no more additional licenses, or for an outright ban, Rae answered simply. “I’m saying ban,” he said. Council members Scott Myller and Meg Bentley said they could support a ban, while Hermacinski and Councilman Jon Quinn said they opposed

the idea. Council members Kenny Reisman, Walter Magill and Bart Kounovsky said they weren’t expecting the question and need more information. A majority of City Council, though, supported asking city staff to prepare information on how a ban could proceed, potential impacts and numerous legal questions. Foote said he could present that information at a future meeting, possibly May 3. Medical marijuana center representatives including Kevin Fisher, of Rocky Mountain Remedies; Chris Ward, of Aloha’s in Milner; and JJ Southard, of Natural Choice, spoke Tuesday, stating their businesses follow applicable laws, employ local workers — Fisher said he employs 40 people — and serve patients in dire need of medication. “I have people coming in who are taking chemotherapy with tumors rising out of their skin,” Southard said. “There are doctors in town who support this, and they will be here for the second reading.”

LOCAL

Police captain’s statements spark new medical marijuana debate Mike Lawrence

PILOT & TODAY STAFF

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS

The prospect of a citywide vote on whether to ban medical marijuana sales in Steamboat Springs is reminiscent of similar efforts taking place in other communities across the state. Voters in Castle Rock and Grand Junction approved bans on medical marijuana businesses Tuesday. Legal challenges are surrounding a voter-approved ban in Loveland. Moffat County voters decided in November to prohibit medical marijuana dispensaries in unincorporated parts of Moffat County. “Most of the cities that have moved toward banning have referred the question to the voters,” Steamboat Springs attorney Tony Lettunich said Wednesday. Steamboat is not yet moving toward a ban on medical marijuana centers, and the idea of a vote is purely hypothetical at this point, but the topic arose Tuesday night when the City Council conducted a first reading of proposed revisions to the city’s medical marijuana regulations. Many of the revisions align the city’s regulations with state legislation adopted last year. City Council gave initial approval to the city’s revised ordinance, with minor clarifications. A second and potentially final reading could occur May 17. Discussion of issues surrounding the industry, including whether to take action toward a ban of medical marijuana sales in Steaboat, could occur before that second reading, likely May 3. Steamboat Springs Police Department Capt. Joel Rae, Dr. Brian Harrington, of Yampa Valley Medical Associates, Kate Marshall, of Grand Futures Prevention Coalition, and Steamboat elementary school teacher Ann Coon all spoke Tuesday about their opinions that the industry is harming the local community, particularly by sending mixed messages to youths. Coon said she has heard thirdgraders talking about medical marijuana advertisements — some of which have promoted infused products including candies — and expressing a desire to visit the businesses. Rae said Steamboat Springs School Resource Officer Josh Carrell recently encountered a 15-year-old female student at Steamboat Springs High School who was in possession of hash oil. “That takes it to a whole other level — this is pure hash oil, a felony-level drug, in possession of a 15-year-old girl in our public school system,” Rae said. He said the hash oil was pack-

MEDICAL MARIJUANA

Issues in Routt County

aged in a way that indicated it came, directly or indirectly, from a medical marijuana center.

The genie’s out Rae and Harrington’s requests for consideration of an outright ban spurred quick feedback. “I would oppose that,” City Council member Jon Quinn said. “You can’t put the genie back in the bottle.” Quinn said that while “there is nobody (on City Council) who wants to see marijuana in the hands of our kids,” Steamboat’s three centers are licensed retailers employing local workers and providing a legal service to patients. He said efforts to ban the industry could unjustly turn “lawabiding, tax-paying businesses into criminals.” Kevin Fisher, of Rocky Mountain Remedies, one of Steamboat’s three licensed medical marijuana centers, said he sent an email to City Council members Wednesday addressing the issue. In a phone call later Wednesday, Fisher said a council-imposed ban would be an example of “micro-legislating” that would go against lengthy public discussion in Steamboat, the licenses he’s received from the city, and the will of statewide voters, who legalized medical marijuana in Colorado through Amendment 20 in 2000. Fisher also said a ban could counteract efforts to regulate dis-

tribution of medical marijuana. “The safest and most effective way is to have closely regulated centers,” Fisher said. “You shut us down … every little caregiver in the city is going to start growing.” Lettunich acknowledged that a city ban on medical marijuana centers, whether adopted by City Council or passed by voters, would not affect primary caregivers allowed to provide the drug to a limited number of patients. A city ban also would not affect medical marijuana centers in other areas of Routt County, such as Aloha’s in Milner. City Council member Walter Magill said Tuesday night that he wouldn’t consider supporting a city ban without efforts in the county, too. Routt County Commissioner Doug Monger said he spoke with Rae about the medical marijuana industry Wednesday morning. “I wouldn’t feel very comfortable instituting a ban myself, as a county commissioner, but I would sure support putting it on the ballot, just like they did in Moffat County,” Monger said. But“if we have a countywide ballot issue, it still only covers the unincorporated part of the county.” There could be some urgency to the discussions. Lettunich noted that Colorado’s moratorium on new medical marijuana businesses lifts July 1. “The understanding of the attorneys that I’ve talked to is that if you’re going to ban it, you’d be safer to ban it before July 1,” Lettunich said, citing potential legal challenges.

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comment& commentary

Viewpoints Steamboat Today • Wednesday, April 13, 2011

OUR VIEW

Pot ban efforts should be citizen-led

ast week Steamboat Springs Police Department Capt. Joel Rae stood up before the City Council and suggested an outright ban on medical marijuana dispensaries. He’s not alone in his belief that the proliferation at issue of medical marijuaBan on na in our community marijuana is causing more harm than good. We know centers of a small contingent of local doctors, and our view possibly even a school A citizen-led official or two, whose ballot initiative voices may soon join the public call for a is the ban. appropriate We’re not ready to method for support — or dismiss deciding this — a ban, but we also community don’t believe it’s fair issue. to ask the City Council to determine the future of medical marijuana sales within Steamboat’s city limits. On this issue, a citizen-led ballot initiative is the most appropriate path. After all, it was voters here and across the state who allowed

the marijuana issue to progress to its current level. In 2000, Colorado voters approved Amendment 20, which made medical marijuana legal for people with certain medical conditions. The amendment passed with 54 percent of the vote statewide. The victory was even more convincing here in Routt County, where 65 percent of voters supported Amendment 20. Perhaps residents feel differently about the issue 11 years later. Perhaps they don’t. It’s been only the past two years that medical marijuana centers, or dispensaries, have popped onto the scene, adding brick-and-mortar storefronts and an increasingly public presence to a legalization debate that has gone on at varying intensities in this country for decades. But what seems to be playing the biggest role in the pushback from folks in this community and others — Colorado municipalities to ban medical marijuana centers in recent moths include Castle Rock, Grand Junction and Loveland — is the notion that Amendment 20 and the interpretations of its rath-

er vague wording have created a system that allows any recreational marijuana smoker with the will a way to secure a medical marijuana license that allows him or her to possess and consume marijuana. To many, medical marijuana is less about getting the drug into the hands of cancer patients and others with debilitating conditions than it is a green light for twentysomethings with “chronic pain” to light up legally. Of course, banning medical marijuana centers won’t prevent marijuana cardholders from legally possessing and growing their own pot, or from primary caregivers from growing and providing marijuana to a limited number of patients. So where does Steamboat go from here? It’s our belief that if community members like Capt. Rae, Dr. Brian Harrington and others feel strongly that medical marijuana centers are wrong for our city, they should pursue a ballot referendum that asks the question of the entire community. That would be a better course of action than lobbying the City Council to pull the plug on them.

The opinion of Steamboat Today is expressed only in the space above.

letters to the editor

Noise balance needed I am a new property owner in Steamboat Springs. Having spent many years enjoying Steamboat vacations, my wife and I are delighted to have recently purchased a condo in Howelsen Place in the city’s newly vibrant downtown. As Colorado natives and CSU grads now living in Washington, D.C., we are especially pleased to have found a place back home. We actually looked for a place in Steamboat years ago, but it wasn’t until the most recent crop of downtown, mixed-use projects that we found exactly what we were looking for. To us, downtown’s mix of amenities, including din-

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ing, entertainment, the Yampa River and Yampa River Core Trail, and Emerald Mountain made for an unbeatable combination. I work as the CEO of the Urban Land Institute, one of the world’s leading research and education organizations involved in land use and urban development. Before this job, I ran a consulting firm active in downtown revitalization and management, entertainment economics and mixed-use development. I’ve worked in downtowns large and small, all over the world. In my experience, the primary characteristic the most successful downtowns achieve is balance — balance between land uses, different kinds of people, modes of transport, levels of

activity and, yes, noise levels. In our view, the proposed changes to the city’s noise ordinance, including a more realistic differentiation between commercial and residential zones, times of day and allowable sound levels, all serve to help achieve this balance. The ordinance alone won’t ensure a healthy downtown, of course. City leaders, downtown managers, retailers, owners of the entertainment venues and new downtown residents each have to continually balance pursuit of their own self-interest with a sense of what’s best for the whole. This is mainly about mutual respect and consideration, See Letters, page 9 Bruce Tinsley

Do you have something to say about a story we’ve written? SteamboatToday.com allows readers to submit comments on stories, to create their own blogs and to participate in our reader forum. Each Sunday, a selection of the top comments from SteamboatToday.com are published. Visit SteamboatToday.com and submit your comments.

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question of the week: Would you vote to ban medical marijuana centers in Steamboat Springs and Routt County? Vote at SteamboatToday.com

Letters policy Limit letters to 600 words. All letters must include the phone number of the writer so that the authenticity of the letter can be verified. Email letters to editor@ SteamboatToday.com or send them to Letters at P.O. Box 774827, Steamboat Springs, CO 80477. By submitting letters to the editor, you grant the Steamboat Pilot & Today a nonexclusive license to publish, copy and distribute your work, while acknowledging that you are the author of the work. You grant the Steamboat Pilot & Today permission to publish and republish this material without restriction, in all formats and media now known or hereafter developed, including but not limited to all electronic rights. Solely by way of example, such rights include the right to convert the material to CD-ROM, DVD and other current and hereafter developed formats, the right to place the article in whole or in part on the Internet and other computer networks, and the right to electronically store and retrieve the work in electronic databases.

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who to call Suzanne Schlicht, chief operating officer, ext. 224 Scott Stanford, general manager, ext. 202 Brent Boyer, editor, ext. 221 Meg Boyer, advertising director, ext. 218 Steve Balgenorth, circulation director, ext. 232 Suzanne Becker, creative services manager, ext. 243 Dan Schuelke, press operations manager, ext. 217 Blythe Terrell, city editor, ext. 234 Nicole Miller, news editor, ext. 246 News: 970-871-4234 Advertising: 970-879-1502 Sports: 970-871-4209 Classifieds: 970-879-1502 Fax: 970-879-2888 Distribution: 970-871-4232 Steamboat Today is published Monday through Saturday mornings by WorldWest Limited Liability Company. It is available free of charge in Routt County. Limit one copy per reader. No person may, without prior written permission of Steamboat Today, take more than one copy of each issue. Additional copies and back issues are available for $1 at our offices or $2.50 to have a copy mailed. 2010 General Excellence winner, Colorado Press Association Member of the Colorado Press Association, Newspaper Association of America, Inland Press Association © 2011 Steamboat Today

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INSIDE: Steamboat Springs Superintendent Shalee Cunningham to leave for a position in California • page 10

Hit the road, Jack and Jill

amoose. Hit the road, Jack and Jill. Jump in the car and set out in search of a cheap thrill. Mud season gotcha down? If you’re like me and a trip to Belize isn’t in the financial picture this month, ignore the seven-day forecast for Tom Ross Steamboat PILOT & TODAY and don’t let it cramp your style. Yes, we can expect a mixture of rain and snow beginning today and continuing right on through Tuesday. But the forecast is brighter in Albu-Turkey. The National Weather Service is forecasting clear skies and a high temperature of 77 degrees in Albuquerque, N.M., today. It will only be partly sunny Sunday, but 5 degrees warmer. Not interested in purchasing an airline ticket to Albuquerque? Me either. Why would we when we can drive there in eight hours? I know — I did it last December. If you leave Steamboat at 5 a.m. and limit your See Ross, page 11

Correction The story “Funding to assist program” on page 1 of Friday’s Steamboat Today should have said the city of Steamboat Springs’ Community Youth Corps also might be able to use recently announced funding from Great Outdoors Colorado. The city program is offered to 14- to 16-year-olds.

Marijuana debate grows

Oak Creek residents have concerns about some pot practices Nicole Inglis

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PILOT & TODAY STAFF

OAK CREEK

The Oak Creek Town Board meeting Thursday night was standing room only, and many audience members were there to talk about an issue that wasn’t even on the agenda. A contingent of residents was intent on discussing medical marijuana during the public comment portion of the

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Skyler Hartman stands among a sea of marijuana plants. Hartman, who owns the commercial grow operation Elevation Wellness Center in downtown Oak Creek, said as far as he is aware, many residents are not concerned with his operation.

Scan this code with your smartphone or visit SteamboatToday. com/Events for a complete listing.

What: Oak Creek Town Board work session on medical marijuana and unpaid electric bills When: 6:30 p.m. Thursday Where: Oak Creek Town Hall, 129 Nancy Crawford Blvd.

meeting. That included Routt County Sheriff Garrett Wiggins, who said he was invited to the meeting by a group of concerned citizens. Wiggins said medical marijuana has become a growing concern in

■ WEATHER Partly cloudy. High of 51.

Page 27

Oak Creek. “I’m having people call me on nearly a daily basis saying, ‘Look, we’ve got marijuana crap all over this town,’” Wiggins said Friday. “I guess there’s a housing complex in town, and they’re saying trucks are coming and unloading pallets of fertilizer and they’re seeing plants coming and going. It’s like it’s no big deal. And we’re talking about residential properties.” The Town Board listened

to several complaints but attempted to relegate the bulk of the discussion to a public work session scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday. Oak Creek resident Eric Bowman was one of the residents who chimed in during the meeting. He read from a prepared statement supporting a ban on dispensaries in Oak Creek. Bowman said he has no See Marijuana, page 12

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problem with medical marijuana patients being entitled to their six plants and 2 ounces of marijuana per Amendment 20. But he said the situation in Oak Creek has gotten out of hand. “It’s Pot Gulch now, and not even local potheads are amused,” Bowman said. Other members of the audience worried that the burden on police Officer Lance Dunaway would be too much, and expressed concern about electricity usage. Dunaway also sent a memo to the Town Board, in which he wrote that he supports a ban on dispensaries because the Oak Creek Police Department — of which he is the lone officer — “is not equipped to monitor and regulate medical marijuana.” Skyler Hartman, who owns the commercial grow operation Elevation Wellness Center in downtown Oak Creek, said as far as he is aware, many residents are not concerned with his operation or that of Mary’s Medical Marijuana Dispensary. Instead, it’s the growers who are operating out of homes and apartments and serving an unknown numbers of patients. “It’s the people moving their plants from their trucks to their apartment,” Hartman said. “They’re filling these places full of plants and being caregivers and destroying people’s property. That’s what the concern is. And I feel the same way. “They’re not representing the industry properly.” He said the town has the right to enact any ordinance it wants to restrict those activities without banning dispensaries and grow operations outright.

Joel ReichenbeRgeR/staff

Medical marijuana patients are entitled to six plants and 2 ounces, but some say the situation has gotten out of hand. Oak Creek Town Board will hold a session on medical marijuana and unpaid electric bills Thursday.

“The town has control to limit the number of patients a caregiver could have,” he said. Wiggins’ presentation to the board brought up more issues than just questionable residential grow operations. The sheriff cited a Feb. 1 letter from U.S. Department of Justice Attorney for Northern California Melinda Haag to the city of Oakland, Calif., about how the possession, cultivation and sale of marijuana is illegal under federal law, and how the federal government would continue to actively enforce laws against illegal drug trafficking. The Haag memo refers primarily to individuals and organizations involved with the unlawful cultivation, manufacturing or distribution of marijuana, stating specifically, in accordance with a 2009 Justice Department memo, that the federal government will not make it a priority to focus resources on the sick patients using medical marijuana. Wiggins said Haag’s statement presented ramifications

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for towns involved in medical marijuana sales. “If you accept taxes from the sale of marijuana, you are committing a federal crime,” Wiggins said. “This is a fight I don’t know if the town of Oak Creek or city of Steamboat Springs wants to take on. “I think you need to really think about this really carefully.” On Friday, Wiggins said he would be in favor of banning medical marijuana production and commerce in Oak Creek. “I think I would do that, just based on the unknown,” Wiggins said. Similar calls for medical marijuana dispensary bans have been made in Steamboat in recent weeks. Other cities and towns across the state also are tackling the issue. A couple of them, including Grand Junction and Castle Rock, recently saw residents vote to ban commercial marijuana operations. To reach Nicole Inglis, call 970-871-4204 or email ninglis@SteamboatToday.com

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Pot could go to a vote in Oak Creek Nicole Inglis

If you go

Pilot & Today staff

Steamboat Springs

Oak Creek residents Walter and Ann Trout have begun the process of a citizen-led initiative to ban medical marijuana centers in the town. According to a memo from Oak Creek Town Clerk Karen Halterman to the Oak Creek Town Board, the Trouts submitted the draft of a petition and a proposed initiative ordinance April 27. Their proposed ordinance would “prohibit the operation of medical marijuana centers, optional premises cultivation operations and marijuana infused products licenses in the town” and calls for a special election if the town does not adopt the ordinance. According to Halterman’s memo, the Trouts’ ordinance was submitted to town attorney Bob Weiss. Weiss, Mayor Nikki Knoebel, Halterman and the Trouts met last week to discuss the ordinance and the initiative process. Weiss outlined three options for the Town Board moving forward: First, the town could adopt the ordinance. Second is to set the special election and allow residents to decide. The third option is to do nothing, which would give the Trouts the right to resubmit their petition with the required number of signatures. The Colorado Revised Statues require 5 percent of registered voters from the most recent election to sign the petition, which in this case amounts to 35 signatures from Oak Creek voters, according to the memo. If those signatures are gathered, the town must adopt the ordinance or set a special election.

What: Oak Creek Town Board meeting When: 7 p.m. today Where: Oak Creek Town Hall, 129 Nancy Crawford Blvd.

Ann Trout said Wednesday that the work she and her husband have done is nothing more than similar initiative petitions in other Western Slope communities such as Palisade, Grand Junction and Buena Vista. “We think that it would be best for the town of Oak Creek and the community to let voters decide whether or not they want commercialized marijuana facilities in town,” she said. “Right now, we don’t have any expectations of what’s going to happen in the future. We respect the work that Nikki (Knoebel) does, so we’ll let them work through this.” Also at tonight’s meeting, the board is scheduled to discuss a new board vacancy. Lawrence Jaconetta submitted a letter of resignation one year into his term. Jaconetta was not present at the April 28 board meeting. Later that evening, Jaconetta was arrested by the Routt County Sheriff’s Office on suspicion of harassment and menacing. He is accused of leaving threatening messages for a Phippsburg resident regarding the medical marijuana issue. At the meeting, the town also will continue the discussion about a proposed ordinance on the collection of unpaid utility bills, consider a resolution on a supplemental budget appropriation and a resolution on a trash rate increase of $1 per month to reflect rising costs. For more information, call the town clerk at 970-736-2422. To reach Nicole Inglis call 970-871-4204 or email ninglis@SteamboatToday.com

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comment& commentary

Viewpoints Steamboat Today • Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Commentary

Medical marijuana centers help patients Kevin Fisher

For the Steamboat Today

Medical marijuana (MMJ) in Steamboat. Man, oh man. “The debate rages,” some would have you believe. “Our kids’ futures hang in the balance,” so say others. “The ‘medicinal system’ is being abused, and for that matter, it’s not medicinal to begin with,” argues Dr. America. Sensational and attentiongrabbing headlines like these beg for repudiation. Therefore, I would like to take a moment today to inject some truths into the discussion surrounding medical marijuana centers (MMCs) in Steamboat. Allow me to address these “headlines” latter to former. Medicine and pot, they don’t quite go together like peanut butter and jelly for some. However, any argument made against the medicinal aspect of cannabis is simply immaterial. The electorate of this state passed Amendment 20 in 2000 thereby legalizing and legitimizing MMJ. Medical professionals are free to debate the merits and clinical efficacy of MMJ, just as they are any other course of treatment. Although the fact remains that to receive an MMJ card in Colorado, one must present a recommendation made by a licensed physician. It should be noted that in mankind’s history, not even one death has been caused by acute marijuana

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toxicity. Compare that to statistics found here: www. drug-rehabs.org/articles/471/ united_states_annual_causes _of_deaths. Just because a local medical practitioner holds his own opinion about MMJ, it negates neither a recommending physician’s nor the constitution’s position. Ever heard the term “second opinion?” Apply here. To many of the concerned parents in our community, our youths’ access to and use of cannabis is of great enough concern as to trump the needs of the adult MMJ patients in Steamboat. To this, I write that I agree, yet dissent. There was no place for the recreational use of marijuana in my life as a minor, and I do not expect our teens to follow a different path. We can look at some statistics provided by the most recent “Healthy Kids Colorado” survey and see that our MMCs have had zero negative impact on the access to and use of cannabis by minors. The study, focused on teens and tweens, reports marijuana usage rates in the past month and lifetime, as well as the ease of access to the drug in 2008 (pre-MMC) and then 2010 (post-MMC). The results show that the numbers are generally flat or down across the board. Reference here: http://admin.steamboatpilot. com/documents/2011/jan/11/ healthy-kids-colorado|survey/ (note: seventh- and See Fisher, page 9

Steamboat should ban dispensaries Millie Flanigan

For the Steamboat Today

The ease of access to a medicinal marijuana prescription, coupled with the bakery/candy store presentation of dispensaries and their extensive advertising, blurs any clear picture as to whether this drug is truly medicinal or simply recreational. It is this mixed message that I think is most dangerous to our youth. The dispensary model and what it has evolved into exposes the youth of our community, including the very young, to the thought that medicinal marijuana is neither harmful nor addictive and is no big deal. With the considerable increase of license holders, there is simply more marijuana in our community. With increased saturation of the drug comes increased availability to individuals of all ages, with or without a license. The current dispensary model is not what was envisioned or intended by the voters of Colorado when Amendment 20 was passed in 2000. Amendment 20 made legal the use of a limited amount of marijuana for an individual suffering from a “debilitating medical condition.” The prescription was to be written by a physician with whom the patient had a “bona fide physicianpatient relationship.” It is certainly debatable whether the majority of license holders have a “debilitating medical condition” and, as

a medical provider, I do not think that receiving a license from a MD that has come to town for one day counts as a “bona fide physician-patient relationship.” Statistics with the state registry make it clear that with the opening of dispensaries in 2009 came a staggering increase in the number of medical marijuana licenses that were written. Much of this was driven by the relationship that dispensaries had with physicians who were willing to come to town for a day to see patients with the sole purpose of writing medical marijuana licenses. It is difficult to deny that with the opening of dispensaries, the face of this issue changed dramatically. It should be noted that nowhere in the amendment was there any mention of dispensaries. The question is not whether marijuana is better or worse than alcohol or prescription drugs, or even if it should be legalized — that is an entirely different debate. The problem is that marijuana is being billed as “medicinal” but is playing by an entirely different set of rules than other prescription drugs. Although other prescription drugs may be overprescribed and are certainly an issue in our community, access to these drugs is entirely different than what is taking place with marijuana. If marijuana truly is to be “medicinal,” it should See Flanigan, page 9 Bruce Tinsley

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Community should evaluate what we want

Millie Flanigan is a physician assistant in Steamboat Springs.

Fisher continued from 8 eighth-graders were not likely polled in the 2008 survey) Combine these statistics with other related studies such as a U.S.-Netherlands (Amsterdam, anyone?) comparison (http:// www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/ node/67), wherein it’s shown that marijuana usage recently and throughout a lifetime for the Dutch is half that of Americans’, and we may deduce that it is education, not prohibition, that works. In fact, we have suggested to the Steamboat Springs City Council that half of all sales tax receipts from Steamboat’s MMCs be directed to youth substance abuse diversion programs. Let’s put these dollars to work keeping our kids on the right path. Now, as for the “debate,” the simple fact is that there hasn’t been any. From Day 1, in August 2009, when the seeds for Rocky Mountain Remedies were planted, I have attended each and every one of the dozens of City Council and Planning Commission hearings

expenditures in our community for the same month by RMR were $61,482. These are no small numbers. To take these funds out of the local economy would be nothing short of a travesty. We three MMCs in Steamboat operate under 180 pages of rules and regulations. We must literally account for every gram of MMJ. There are about 1,000 medical marijuana cardholders in Routt County. Their right to possess and cultivate MMJ is, once again, constitutionally protected. With or without licensed MMCs in our town, you can be guaranteed there will be cannabis. Why reinvigorate the black market? To deny patients access to their physician-directed medication in a safe, clean and controlled environment would take the hardest of hearts. Support our city, our industry and our citizens’ right to sovereignty over body and mind. Kevin Fisher is co-owner of Rocky Mountain Remedies in Steamboat Springs.

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I do not think any of us, including the Steamboat Springs City Council, could have foreseen the evolution of this industry and the impact of the “dispensary model.” More than 60 communities in Colorado have moved forward and have banned dispensaries. Steamboat needs to do the same. I think we as a community must re-evaluate what we want for our town and our children. The City Council will address this issue at their next meeting. I encourage you to contact your council persons, citycouncil@steamboatsprings. net, and if possible attend the meeting tonight.

Handsome & Efficient Choices

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What: Steamboat Springs City Council meeting When: 5 p.m. today; discussion of whether to ban medical marijuana centers in Steamboat could start at about 6:30 p.m.; a second reading of the city’s regulatory ordinance is schedule for later tonight Where: Centennial Hall, 124 10th St. Contact: Call city offices at 970-8792060 or visit steamboatsprings.net for more information

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If you go

Business spent $61,482 in town in March pertinent to MMJ. Any public opposition to MMCs was not once voiced until the April 5 council meeting. Previously, during the intervening year and a half, council passed an ordinance governing MMCs and issued each of those centers not one but two annual licenses to operate. I can only speak for RMR, but on the council’s go-ahead, we, Ryan and Kevin Fisher, moved forward and invested our life savings in a business that was seemingly approved, licensed and protected by council’s ordinance. Sadly, I find it darkly ironic that the business practices of an MMC west of town, outside of Steamboat’s jurisdiction and unaffected by any city legislation, can largely be blamed for the current dust-up. Steamboat needs to know that we at RMR call this town home, too. We strive to make a positive impact on our city’s and residents’ health, literally and fiscally. In March alone, our center financed a payroll of $116,217 and supported more than 30 employees. Direct

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be playing by the same rules as other medicinal drugs. Steamboat bills itself as a world-class resort, Ski Town USA. Are full-page color ads plastered all over our daily papers advertising the likes of Cheeba Chews, Kandy Kush and Fridays as Free Keef Cola Day best representing our community? Some argue that it is up to parents to raise their children in such a way that they will make good choices. I aim for this in my parenting each and every day, though I am not so naive as to think that my children would not benefit from barriers to potentially risky behaviors. Arguments against a ban of dispensaries raise the concern that license holders will start growing marijuana in their residences, unregulated. It is possible that some individuals may grow the allotted six plants in their own homes, or may even become caregivers, thereby being allowed to supply marijuana for as many as five patients. However, this takes some level of commitment and investment, which many indi-

viduals who are happy to stop by the dispensary will choose to forgo. I also think that without dispensaries, we will not have doctors coming to town on a regular basis to write mass prescriptions. Based on this, I would anticipate the number of license holders will dwindle throughout time and that eventually we will get closer to how things were from 2000 to 2009. It has been argued that owners of these dispensaries have invested in our community and employ a significant numbers of employees. The owners of these dispensaries speculated on what most would consider a risky business proposition. It is not the responsibility of our community to assure their success at the expense of what is best for our community as a whole, and our youth in particular. The most compelling argument supporting the dispensaries is that some individuals have truly benefited from them. I think this is true for a limited number of individuals. These individuals will continue to be served by Amendment 20, as it was intended, without the negative impact of the dispensaries.

C E L E B R AT I N G

Flanigan continued from 8

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Teens are arrested in burglaries Pair includes boy stabbed at library Matt Stensland

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STEAMBOAT SPRINGS

Police say the 14-year-old boy who was stabbed April 4 during an altercation at Bud Werner Memorial Library has confessed to helping burglarize six downtown businesses May 4. The boy’s 18year-old brother, William Clive Ellifritz, also has been arrested and is in custody at Routt County Jail in lieu Ellifritz of $30,000 bail. Steamboat Springs police say that on May 4, starting shortly before 5 a.m., the brothers broke into Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant, Cantina Mexican Restaurant, Steamboat Meat & Seafood Co., Double Z Bar & BBQ, Brooklynn’s Pizzeria and Sage Healing Arts. Some food items may have been taken, along with $200 from Brooklynn’s. “The two of them made an agreement that they were going to break into a bunch of businesses,” Detective Dave Kleiber said Tuesday. Police also suspect that the brothers broke into at least one car in Dream Island Mobile Home Park that morning and took a laptop computer. Evidence also was seized in the 14-year-old boy’s room that police think is from one of nine cars broken into May 2 in Hayden. Kleiber said police initially investigated whether Ellifritz might have been involved See Burglaries, page 20

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People raise their hands to show their support for medical marijuana centers in Steamboat Springs during Tuesday night’s Steamboat Springs City Council meeting. Council members voted, 4-3, against a ban on medical marijuana centers and unanimously voted to send the question to voters in November.

Dispensary vote coming

Council rejects ban on marijuana centers, supports ballot question Mike Lawrence

PILOT & TODAY STAFF

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS

HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY? Continue the conversation online at SteamboatToday.com

Steamboat Springs residents will vote in November on whether to ban medical marijuana businesses in the city. Steamboat Springs City Council decided not to enact a ban themselves Tuesday night in Centennial Hall, after nearly two hours of passionate pub-

lic comment from a standingroom-only crowd that spilled into the hallway. City Council voted, 4-3, against a ban, meaning the possibility for a ban won’t return for final approval June 7. Councilwoman Meg Bentley supported a ban, along with

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Page 43

Walter Magill and Scott Myller. City Council members Kenny Reisman, Jon Quinn, Cari Hermacinski and Bart Kounovsky voted against a ban. City Council unanimously supported a ballot issue in November, though, deciding to ask Steamboat voters whether to ban medical marijuana centers in the city. The ballot question will be up for final approval, in the form of a resolution

to finalize its language, June 7. City Council also will discuss June 7 whether to allocate sales tax revenues from the medical marijuana industry to teen programs and youth education efforts. Also on the table that night will be whether to ask voters in November to approve an additional 5 percent sales tax on the industry for those causes. See Marijuana, back page

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Finally, June 7 also will include a second reading of Steamboat’s regulatory ordinance for the medical marijuana industry. City Council tabled that reading Tuesday night. The emotional public discussion about a ban drew many spontaneous bursts of applause, protesting outbursts and occasional laughter — jeering and genuine — from the crowd. Parents warned about affects on children, particularly from excessive or misleading advertising in local media; patients cited personal benefits from medical marijuana; doctors disputed the drug’s effectiveness and raised questions about its harms; youth advocates cited increasing marijuana usage statistics; and medical marijuana center stakeholders talked about state legality, freedom of choice and local economic benefits from licensed businesses. “I believe that this ban will result in the greatest good for the greatest number,” said Steamboat Springs High School biology teacher Cindy Gay, who talked about the drug’s neurological impacts and added that she was speaking as a parent, educator and community member. “A ban does not prohibit those who truly benefit from obtaining the drug,” she said. Steamboat resident Terry Pavick, a two-time cancer survivor and father of two children, said the drug has had very positive effects on his life. Pavick said medical marijuana works better for him than over-the-counter painkillers that “like to eat up your liver, like alcohol.” He said he was Colorado’s 35th medical marijuana patient after legalization of the industry. “I was a patient when there

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was no dispensary,” Pavick said. “It allows me to function.” After it all, Bentley moved to ban the commercial industry and said the city “should take a step back” given the uncertainty of state and federal law and the industry’s affects on local youths. “I think it’s mostly the kids and the families in the city of Steamboat Springs that are taking the brunt of all of it,” she said about controversy surrounding the industry. “What I am not wanting to do is make the kids get … negatively affected by all the confusion in their adults’ world. So that is why I asked to ban (centers) tonight.” Myller quickly seconded Bentley’s motion, and it initially appeared that the guillotine could be falling for medical marijuana centers in Steamboat. But several council members then voiced their disagreement with a ban. Councilman Kenny Reisman questioned what a ban would achieve — likely, he said, greater business at medical marijuana centers just outside of Steamboat, along with grow operations “next door to your house” — and said he didn’t think a ban on centers would ultimately remove marijuana use from the city. “I don’t believe in the prohibition model, I believe in the education model,” Reisman said. Quinn spoke about America’s massive pharmaceutical industries, seen daily in prolific television ads touting all kinds of medicines for all kinds of ailments.

“We are a country that treats Big Macs with Lipitor, and the only one who loses is the patient,” he said, before paraphrasing a quote he attributed to Texas congressman and Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul. “The day we decide the government can make our medical decisions for us is the day we decide that our bodies belong to the government,” Quinn said. He noted that Routt County is home to more than 1,000 medical marijuana cardholders, who believe the drug helps them. “It’s not my job to place a judgment on their belief,” Quinn said. Myller countered that the medical marijuana industry has grown far beyond what Colorado voters may have intended with the passage of Amendment 20 in 2000, legalizing medical marijuana patients and dispersal of the drug by caregivers. “This is a big increase in recreational use and that wasn’t what we voted for,” Myller said. Magill said the industry’s prominent visibility has worsened problems. “It’s the poking in the face by what (Milner medical marijuana dispensary) Aloha’s has done; it’s the poking in the face by what the Steamboat Pilot (& Today) has done,” Magill said, referring to advertising and news stories, respectively. Kate Marshall, county coordinator for the youth education and substance abuse prevention group Grand Futures Prevention Coalition, had mixed reactions after the rejection of a ban. “I think tonight’s discussion was healthy and brought up a lot of great points,” she said. “I am pleased that it will move to the voters.” To reach Mike Lawrence, call 970-871-4233 or email mlawrence@SteamboatToday.com

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Viewpoints

steamboat

Pilot &today

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Editorial Board Scott Stanford, general manager Brent Boyer, editor Tom Ross, reporter Laura Schmidt, community representative Jim Miller, community representative

Steamboat Springs, Colorado • Sunday, May 22, 2011 SteamboatToday.com

Commentary

Contact the editorial board at 970-871-4221 or editor@SteamboatToday.com

Health care reform bill is a win

our view

Vote on dispensaries is right choice T

he Steamboat Springs City Council made the right decision in letting voters decide whether to ban medical marijuana dispensaries. We live in a representative democracy, and in most cases, we advocate that decisions be left to City Council. Council members are in the best position to research at issue and make informed choices on Medical most issues. That’s what we electmarijuana ed them to do. dispensaries But the medical marijuana business is not a factual debate; rather, it’s a question about comour view munity standards. Every City City Council Council meeting on the mediwas correct to cal marijuana issue has been send the issue filled with passionate arguments to a vote. on both sides. Even the council is divided — a motion to ban medical marijuana dispensaries failed by a 4-3 vote Tuesday night. That’s why the 7-0 vote to put the issue on the November ballot was the correct one. The only way to know where the community’s moral and ethical stance is on this issue is through the election process. A little history on how we got to this point: In 2000, Colorado voters approved Amendment 20, which made medical marijuana legal for people with certain medical conditions. The amendment passed with 54 percent of the vote statewide. In Routt County, 65 percent of voters supported Amendment 20. So in theory, a majority of the county’s residents think patients who need medical marijuana should be able to use it. But support for medical marijuana use does not automatically translate into support for medical marijuana dispensaries. And given the expansion of the medical marijuana business in the 11 years since the vote, sentiments may have changed. Dispensaries — facilities that grow and sell marijuana to patients registered to use it — have been in Steamboat since 2009. In January 2010, the City Council adopted policies regulating them, effectively allowing them to operate within the city limits. The council was charting new territory. There was no way to know exactly what the impacts of the dispensaries would be. Some 18 months and three dispensaries later, the impacts are clearer. There now are about 1,100 registered medical marijuana users in Routt County — almost 6 percent of the county’s adult population. One has to wonder whether the number of registered users would be that high without the dispensaries. And much to the chagrin of some council members, the dispensaries bring with them greater visibility of marijuana. A vote for dispensaries is a vote for increased medical marijuana advertising and media coverage. It simply comes with the territory. Dispensary advocates argue that they allow for oversight and regulation of the industry, which is preferable to an untold number of grow operations providing marijuana to an ever-increasing population of registered users. And there are countless stories of people who say that medical marijuana is the only thing that adequately relieves the pain caused by debilitating illness. While banning dispensaries would have no affect on their right to use marijuana, it might make it harder for those patients to gain access to the drug. Finally, medical marijuana businesses provide some level of economic benefit for the city in the form of payroll and sales tax contributions. Steamboat city attorney Dan Foote noted that more than 100 of the state’s communities have enacted regulations allowing or banning medical marijuana businesses. And the Colorado Municipal League reports that 37 communities have voted on the issue. Listening to the impassioned crowd argue both sides of the issue at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting and having watched council members struggle with their own stance on medical marijuana, it has become clear that a vote is the best means of resolving this issue. We urge the council to finalize the ballot issue when it meets in June.

where to write Routt County

U.S. District 3 ● State House District 57 ● State Senate District 8 President Barack Obama The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Washington, D.C., 20500 202-456-1111 U.S. Sen. Mark Udall (D) B40E Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, D.C., 20510 202-224-5941

Steamboat City Council Cari Hermacinski Meg Bentley Jon Quinn Scott Myller Walter Magill Bart Kounovsky Kenny Reisman Steamboat City Hall P.O. Box 775088 970-879-2060

Robert Semro

For the Pilot & Today

Letters to the Editor Ban pot ads Much has been said on the pros and cons of banning dispensaries. A middle of the road approach would be to ban only the advertising. This would clean up our newspapers and airwaves, yet still guarantee patients’ access to providers. The recommending physician could provide a list of these providers. Recreational use has always been around, that is unlikely to change from a ban, but it used to be more discreet. Additionally the local newspapers should be discouraged from displaying front-page photos of plants and grow rooms. This also promotes the image that we have accepted recreational use, and along with the advertising, makes it appear acceptable to our kids.

Michael Ehrlich

Steamboat Springs

Vote in election This week, a ballot for Yampa Valley Electric Association’s board-member election will be arriving in your mailbox. This is your chance to make a difference in our community, and your vote is more important than ever. Last year, only 12.5 percent of YVEA’s meter holders cast their votes, so only a few more on either side could decide this year’s election. YVEA’s energy policies have worked well in the past, but they desperately need updating to keep pace with the times and with our community’s evolving priorities. This year, progressive board can-

didates are running who could help us catch up to other member-owned electric cooperatives in Colorado and help lead our community toward a more economically resilient and environmentally sustainable future. Currently YVEA’s mission is narrowly defined to provide energy to its customers at the lowest price possible, and it purchases almost 100 percent of this power from Xcel Energy. While our electricity is fairly cheap right now, by relying exclusively on Xcel for our power, our community is exposed to future price volatility for oil, gas and coal, due to the increasing cost of extracting these dwindling resources. Indeed, YVEA is already negotiating an increase in energy prices with Xcel, which is a preview of what we can expect in the future. It’s time for a change. In Routt County alone, our community spent more than $35 million on electricity last year. Instead of sending much of that money to a corporation from Minnesota, we should invest in local generation projects that would provide much needed economic stimulus and insulation from future price fluctuations in fossil-fuel electricity generation. Other Colorado utilities are already getting more than 20 percent of their power from such local projects, and their electricity rates are lower than ours. It’s time to catch up. We need to think about how we can assert a new direction for our utility that will take into consideration where we get our electricity in the future. The world is chang-

ing fast, and we have the opportunity to make choices today that will lead to a more economically prosperous and environmentally friendly future. The next 20 years will probably be quite different from the last 20 years, and we would be wise to be prepared — for our children’s sake as well as our own.When you get your ballot, read the information about the candidates. Then cast your vote. It takes only a minute. Don’t postpone it. Exercise your right to make their board your board. Let’s energize now! And please be aware that in order for your vote to be valid, your ballot must be signed by the person whose name appears on your YVEA bill.

Tim McCarthy and Paul Potyen Steamboat Springs

Pot is a problem While the debate rages on about marijuana distribution centers in the Yampa Valley, our children have increasing access to a Schedule 1 controlled substance. Infants are exposed to it before birth, adolescents’ brains are fried, asthma rates climb higher and marijuana-related DUIs in Routt County are on the rise. Google the AAP, BMA (British Medical Association), AMA (Australian Medical Association, mate), and NYT for additional information and vote in November.

Steven Ross

Steamboat Springs

Commentary

Getting smart on aid Nicholas Kristof

The New York Times

One cost of the uproar about Greg Mortenson, and the allegations that he fictionalized his school-building story in the best-selling book “Three Cups of Tea,” is likely to be cynicism about whether aid makes a difference. But there also are deeper questions about how best to make an impact. Mortenson and a number of other education organizations mostly build schools. That seems pretty straightforward. If we want to get more kids in school across the world, what could make more

sense than building schools? How about deworming kids? But, first, a digression: a paean to economists. Kristof When I was in college, I majored in political science. But if I were going through college today, I’d major in economics. It possesses a rigor that other fields in the social sciences don’t — and often greater relevance, as well. That’s why economists are shaping national debates about everything from health care to pover-

ty, while political scientists often seem increasingly theoretical and irrelevant. Economists are successful imperialists of other disciplines because they have better tools. Educators know far more about schools, but economists have used rigorous statistical methods to answer basic questions: Does having a graduate degree make one a better teacher? (Probably not.) Is money better spent on smaller classes or on better teachers? (Probably better teachers.) And, yes, I’m getting to deworming. Hold your horses! See Kristof, page 7A

At a time when political bipartisanship is a rare event, state leaders from both parties and business and consumer groups successfully reached agreement on a matter of real substance. Even more surprising, it was about health care reform. Key Republican and Democratic legislators, with an assist from Gov. John Hickenlooper, successfully achieved consensus on a structure for a health benefit exchange in Colorado. The result was Senate Bill 200, sponsored by a top Democrat in the Senate and the Republican House majority leader. The legislation passed both houses of the Colorado General Assembly and soon will be signed into law by the governor. In addition to bipartisan legislative support, SB 200 was backed by one of the most diverse consumer and business coalitions in the history of the legislature. It enjoyed the support of dozens of consumer groups as well as organizations such as the Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry, National Federation of Independent Businesses, Colorado Concern, Colorado Competitive Council and Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce. When partisanship became an issue during the process, these business groups wrote to legislators stating that the legislation “embodies solid policy components reflecting the specific and unique needs of Colorado and ensures the Centennial State will control its destiny regarding the implementation of federal health reform.” The health benefit exchange that will be created by this effort will provide consumers and small businesses with a one-stop marketplace where they can find information about health plans and health insurance policies and where they can enroll in whatever plan they choose. The exchange will allow users to compare health insurance options based on price, benefits, services and quality. It will foster greater competition based on price and quality as well as provide a level playing field for private health insurers to comply with consumer protections and benefit requirements. The exchange doesn’t restructure the current system; instead, it simply offers one more option for purchasing health coverage. Individual consumers and small businesses are free to use the exchange or any other available method to get insurance. Still, the exchange has the potential to create a more efficient and competitive market by pooling more people together. A well-functioning See Semro, page 7A

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Routt County Surveyor Ridgeway “Skidge” Moon was arrested Thursday night on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs and several other charges. According to a Colorado State Patrol warrantless arrest affidavit, Moon was arrested after a traffic stop at 10:27 p.m. Thursday at WalMoon ton Creek Road and U.S. Highway 40. In the affidavit, Trooper Brett Hilling said he pulled over Moon’s Dodge pickup because its license plate wasn’t illuminated, as required by state law. Hilling wrote in the affidavit that Moon “mumbled when he spoke” and had a “strong odor of an unknown alcoholic bever-

age on his breath.” Hilling said he found a clear plastic baggie in the right breast pocket of Moon’s coat that later tested positive as cocaine. He also said that in Moon’s front pants pocket was “a small plastic bottle with a short section of straw attached to it,” and “inside the small bottle was more of the white powder.” Inside Moon’s vehicle was a half-gallon bottle of vodka that was partially empty, Hilling said. Hilling said that Moon denied drinking alcohol but that he struggled to complete voluntary roadside maneuvers. Moon also was arrested on suspicion of possessing a Schedule 2 controlled substance, driving with defective license plate lamps, drinking from or possessing an open alcoholic beverage container, operating an uninsured motor vehicle and possessing drug paraphernalia. He was booked into Routt

County jail at 12:20 a.m. Friday and released on $10,000 bond at 1:45 a.m. Moon did not return several messages left Monday and Tuesday at his office, D&D, requesting comment. Moon, 63, is serving his fourth four-year term as county surveyor. He has run unopposed as an unaffiliated candidate each time. The surveyor represents the county in land boundary disputes. County Manager Tom Sullivan said Moon’s annual salary from the county is $3,610, which is set by state law. “I don’t think the county’s had any need since I’ve been here to look over a land dispute, and I’ve been here 10 years,” Sullivan said. Moon is scheduled to appear in Routt County Court at 8:30 a.m. June 28. To reach Jack Weinstein, call 970-871-4203 or email jweinstein@SteamboatToday.com

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Group forms to oppose pot business Tuesday meeting intended as strategic session for local action STEAMBOAT SPRINGS

A Tuesday meeting could be the first step toward formalized public support for a ban on medical marijuana businesses, an issue that likely will be on the ballot for Steamboat Springs voters in November and that county officials plan to discuss in June. A leader of the local medical marijuana industry, conversely, said work to formalize opposition to a ban will accelerate next month. The activity indicates that wheels are slowly starting to turn in anticipation of upcoming campaigns on both sides of the issue that recently filled Centennial Hall. Steamboat resident Lisa Watts, an organizer of next week’s meeting, said the event at Bud Werner Memorial Library is open to anyone with concerns about the commercial industry. “I’d like to give the community an avenue to positively address their concerns about the impact that medical marijuana is having on the community,” Watts said. “We’d like to offer this organization as a unifying point for the community to come together, share information and address issues that Amendment 20 has ended up placing in small towns, municipalities and counties across the state.”

If you go What: Strategic meeting of people with concerns about the medical marijuana industry in Steamboat Springs and Routt County When: 7 p.m. Tuesday Where: Bud Werner Memorial Library, community conference room Contact: Lisa Watts at 970-319-7187 or steamboatlisa@yahoo.com; or Dr. Kelly Victory at 216-337-1622 or kvic tory@victoryhealth.com. Online: www.routtcountycitizens.word press.com.

Colorado voters’ passage of Amendment 20 in 2000 legalized medical marijuana patients and dispersal of the drug by caregivers. But the industry’s booming growth into the dispensary and medical marijuana center model has led to regulatory challenges at the state and local levels, along with public votes on whether to allow the industry in municipalities across Colorado. The Steamboat Springs City Council voted, 4-3, on May 17 against a ban on the industry in Steamboat. But City Council unanimously supported placing the issue before city voters and could address finalized language of a ballot issue next month, in preparation for a November election. Watts said she has not registered a political action committee with the Colorado Secretary of State’s office and is unsure whether Tuesday’s meeting will evolve into a for-

mal committee for a fall campaign. She did say, though, that one topic Tuesday will be how to approach a public meeting of the Board of Routt County Commissioners at 5 p.m. June 21 in the Routt County Courthouse. That meeting will address the medical marijuana industry in unincorporated areas of the county. “We do plan on pursuing action on a county level to address these issues and ask the community of Steamboat Springs what kind of community we want to be,” Watts said. “This Tuesday meeting is (about) exactly that — how we want to present this to commissioners.” Commissioner Doug Monger said the June 21 meeting will include discussions about two resolutions: one that would extend a ban on additional medical marijuana businesses in the county to July 1, 2012; and a second that would ban any future businesses. “Neither of those would put Aloha’s out of business at this point in time,” Monger said, referring to a medical marijuana dispensary in Milner. A press release emailed to media late Monday announced next week’s pro-ban meeting as a function of Routt County Citizens Against Medical Marijuana. But Watts — who was quoted in the press release See Marijuana, page 14

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to as many as 90 days in jail. That will be decided during sentencing scheduled for 1 p.m. June 2. “It’s up to the judge,” Prindle said. Pat Arnone, whose family owned the black Labrador retriever named Duke, told O’Hara he wanted to address

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the court during sentencing. The plea agreement also calls for Herman to pay nearly $3,400 in restitution, perform 100 hours of community service and write a letter of apology to the Arnone family. Herman will be prohibited from pos-

sessing firearms and must also donate $750 to the Routt County Humane Society and the Animal Assistance League. Horner told the judge that Herman had completed an anger management evaluation and there was no recommendation for treatment. To reach Matt Stensland, call 970-871-4247 or email mstensland@SteamboatToday.com

Dispensaries to lead group opposed to ban

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sent by Phyllis Coletta — said Tuesday that the group’s name, in her opinion, hasn’t been finalized and should be toned down. “We’d prefer that it’s just a medical marijuana community impact coalition,” she said. A website cited in the press release, www.routtcountyciti zens.wordpress.com, keeps the initial language, though, while announcing next week’s meeting. “Please come prepared to help with ideas and efforts to

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rid Routt County of pot dispensaries,” the website states. “If you want to argue about pot, stay home. This meeting is for Routt County Citizens Against Medical Marijuana.” Kevin Fisher, co-owner of the Steamboat medical marijuana dispensary Rocky Mountain Remedies, said he’s waiting until after City Council’s June 7 action on ballot

language to formalize a campaign opposing a ban. “We’re obviously putting the groundwork together for our side’s PAC,” Fisher said. “We’re not going to put the name out there until after June 7.” He said that all three of Steamboat’s medical marijuana dispensaries would be involved in a campaign but that he and Rocky Mountain Remedies likely would be the leader, financially and logistically. To reach Mike Lawrence, call 970-871-4233 or email mlawrence@SteamboatToday.com

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Council approves marijuana question Members delay action on city law Jack Weinstein

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STEAMBOAT SPRINGS

Steamboat Springs voters will decide in November whether to allow medical marijuana businesses to continue to operate in the city. Now they have a question to consider. The City Council, by a 6-0 vote, approved a ballot question Tuesday night that, if approved by voters, would ban the operation of medical marijuana dispensaries, grow operations and infused product makers in Steamboat. It wouldn’t prohibit the cultivation and use of medical marijuana by patients and caregivers in compliance with Amendment 20. The ballot question was one of two issues City Council members considered relating to the future of medical marijuana businesses in Steamboat during a meeting at Centennial Hall that remained tame. Unlike the May 17 meeting, when the City Council unanimously supported putting a question on the ballot after defeating a motion to ban medical marijuana, few supporters and opponents were in attendance. City Council members dismissed, by a 5-1 vote, two other possible ballot questions. One would have imposed an additional 5 percent sales tax on medical marijuana sales. The second would have imposed the tax and dedicated the revenue to youth See Council, back page

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Water flows over the fields at the Davis Krouse Ranch on Tuesday morning near U.S. Highway 40 and Routt County Road 44.

MATT STENSLAND/STAFF

Elk River breaks record

River peaks with 100-year flood; waters expected to recede until weekend Matt Stensland

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STEAMBOAT SPRINGS

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The Elk River broke its alltime record early Tuesday, according to provisional data recorded by the U.S. Geological Survey. A measuring station at the Routt County Road 42 bridge measured the peak at 7,520 cubic feet per second at 4:45 a.m. “Preliminarily, that is a new peak of record,” said Michael Lewis, associate director of the

USGS Colorado Water Science Center. Lewis said there was a 1 percent chance that Tuesday’s flow would be exceeded in a given year, meaning the Elk River experienced a 100-year event. The record is based on about 40 years’ worth of data. The data are from 1904 to 1927 and 1990 to 2010. The gap represents a period when the mea-

■ RIVER REPORT

■ WEATHER

Yampa River flow Tuesday Noon 4,610 cfs 11 p.m. 4,680 cfs Average for this date 2,300 cfs Highest for this date 5,100 cfs, 1957 Lowest for this date 238 cfs, 1934 Streamflow reported in cubic feet per second at the Fifth Street Bridge as provided by the U.S. Geological Survey.

Partly sunny. High of 69.

Page 36

Flood coverage ■ For a photo gallery of Routt County flooding and updates on water levels, visit SteamboatToday.com. ■ For a story about the state using the flood to design a bridge, see page 3.

suring station was not operated, Lewis said. The record breaks the record that was set last year, when the Elk peaked at 6,970 cfs on June 8. “It was back-to-back big years,” Lewis said. The 100-year flooding event

was apparent west of Steamboat Springs, where property owners repeatedly reported never seeing the water this high. “This is 7,000 cfs, give or take,” Bob Struble said while driving along C.R. 44 overlooking the flooding. “I can’t imagine what 10,000 cfs would be like.” Struble, Routt County’s emergency management director, was bracing for that number after seeing an earlier forecast. Struble surveyed the flooding See Flooding, back page

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Elk forecast to drop tonight before coming back to near 8 feet Sunday Flooding continued from 1 early Tuesday and visited with affected property owners. “A little bit of water this morning,” Connie Fry said, looking at the river water inundating her yard and coming within feet of her home near C.R. 44 and U.S. Highway 40. “I’ve been here 30 years, and it’s never been this high.” Fry also owns a small cabin across the road that was surrounded by water. Her aunt used to live in the cabin, which was built in 1949. “There is only one time they had to bring the chickens in because the water was so high,” Fry said. Tom Peretic rents the cabin now with his family, and they were prepared for the high water, which breached their sandbags but did not reach the floor of the home. “We’ll wait until it goes down today, fix some sandbags, and hopefully we’ll be OK,” Peretic said. Struble told the Peretic and Fry families that the Elk is expected to drop, but they should expect similar river behavior. There is still a lot of snow in the high country, Struble warned, and it

could peak again. “As long as it’s high and strong, that’s fine,” Fry told Struble. “Just as long as it doesn’t get any higher.” Nearby, water had engulfed the meadows at the Davis Krouse Ranch and made the driveway impassable. Sandbags and berms helped protect the structures at the ranch. “We’re high and dry,” caretaker Yuri Goldstein said. That was not the case to the west, where high water was again pummeling Saddle Mountain Ranch at U.S. 40 and C.R. 44. A family renting a home on the ranch evacuated Friday along Matt Stensland/Staff with horses. Kent Osteen checks on a pump Tuesday morning at his home along the Yampa A large piece of plastic pipe River after it merges with the Elk River. three feet in diameter or larger was sticking out of a culvert Osteen said. that the flooding is eroding their going underneath U.S. 40 at the About a dozen men from banks and the river is eating their ranch. Anchor Way Baptist Church land. “That used to be here,” Stru- came over Monday to help him “I can fish from the hot tub ble said, pointing to the gushing fortify his house with sandbags. now,” Osteen said. “I don’t need water running through a trench “We either needed to do noth- it any closer.” intersecting the driveway at the ing or do a lot, so we did a lot,” After surpassing a gauge ranch. Osteen said. height of 8 feet early Tuesday Farther west, Struble visited Sandbags were the only thing at the C.R. 42 bridge, the Elk with Kent Osteen, who owns a keeping the river from reaching is forecast to drop to about 7 home directly next to the Yampa his deck and foundation. Osteen’s feet before edging back toward River after it merges with the Elk. structures were not damaged, but 8 feet on Sunday, according “You always have an exciting he and other property owners to forecasts from the National day or two in the spring, but have similar concerns. Weather Service. this year has been exceptional,” Struble said they are worried The Yampa River in down-

Core Trail closures ■ From Dougherty Road to River Creek Park at Walton Creek Road ■ U.S. Highway 40 underpass at Walton Creek ■ From Stone Lane and Chinook Drive to U.S. 40 underpass ■ The railroad underpass upstream of Fetcher Pond ■ From Fetcher Pond to Trafalgar Drive ■ From Snake Island to the Ninth Street Bridge ■ 13th Street underpass Source: City of Steamboat Springs

Emerald Park closed The City of Steamboat Springs Parks, Open Space and Recreational Services Department has closed Emerald Park because of high water. The city advised people to use caution in Little Toots Park, Dr. Rich Weiss Park and all parks adjacent to rivers and streams.

town Steamboat is expected to remain close to its current Fifth Street Bridge height of 7 feet through Sunday. The river was flowing at about 4,500 cfs Tuesday afternoon, shy of its peak so far this spring of 4,780 cfs at 11:15 p.m. Monday. The record for the Yampa, according the USGS, is 6,820 cfs. To reach Matt Stensland, call 970-871-4247 or email mstensland@SteamboatToday.com

Volunteers need to register City Council funds Bike Town USA effort Red Cross continued from 11 skills needed to work as a volunteer in a Red Cross shelter. The emergency scenarios range from a blizzard shelter for stranded travelers; an apartment fire or gas leak shelter and information center; or a shelter for evacuees during a major disaster. ■ Introduction to disaster action team: insights into the role of volunteers who serve as first responders for the Red Cross. The classes are from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Friday and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at Centennial Hall. Those interested need to preregister by contacting Sarah Cherry at 401-855-3888 or cherry sail@me.com, or Danielle Sullivan at 970-226-5728, ext. 228, or sullivand@centennialarc.org. Cherry said she has taken

great satisfaction from helping with disaster response around the country, and formed lasting friendships in the process. The role of Red Cross is to step into the breach when disasters first happen, she said. “It is not just about what you can do nationally,” Cherry said. “Our community is great at helping those in need, but sometimes in the case of a disaster like a single-family fire here in Steamboat, they need that help immediately — even in the middle of the night. That is what we are here for. The Red Cross can come in and assist with immediate disaster needs to bridge the gap until the community organizations can help.” To reach Tom Ross, call 970-871-4205 or email tross@SteamboatToday.com

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Council continued from 1 education and programs to mitigate the impacts of medical marijuana in the community. They opted to review those issues if the ban fails. And, by a 5-1 vote, the City Council delayed action to the June 21 meeting on the second reading of a revised ordinance to regulate Steamboat’s medical marijuana businesses. City Council member Scott Myller opposed the motion. Council member Meg Bentley didn’t attend the meeting. Colorado voters approved the use of marijuana for certain medical conditions with a doctor’s recommendation in 2000 by voting in favor of Amendment 20. It also was supported by a majority of Routt County voters. Medical marijuana dispensaries have operated in Steamboat since 2009, when three opened late that year. The City Council approved an ordinance in January 2010 that defined rules for their operation in Steamboat. There was some confusion about the revised medical marijuana ordinance council members were being asked to consider Tuesday. City staff attorney Dan Foote said that since last fall he had been preparing a revised ordinance that put the city in compliance with Colorado House Bill 1284, legislation created to regu-

late the state’s burgeoning medical marijuana industry. But Foote said he changed the ordinance after the idea to ban medical marijuana businesses came up April 5. At that meeting, Steamboat Springs Police Department Capt. Joel Rae and Dr. Brian Harrington, of Yampa Valley Medical Associates, voiced support for a ban. Foote said the new ordinance would permit the three existing dispensaries to operate in compliance with Amendment 20 as well was zoning and land use regulations imposed by the city. He said it did not recognize the definitions of medical marijuana commercial operations created by House Bill 1284. City Council members ex pressed concern that the new ordinance would make it difficult for the dispensaries to operate legally after July 1, the deadline imposed by House Bill 1284 for municipalities to act on medical marijuana. “I guess my intent as we moved through this process of getting out and letting the voters decide was keeping the status quo until the November election,” City Council member Bart Kounovsky said. City Attorney Tony Lettunich said if the City Council approve an ordinance allowing the commercial operations defined by House Bill 1284, it could place Steamboat in a difficult legal

Ballot question Shall the city of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, ban the cultivation, manufacture and sale of medical marijuana, including the operations of medical marijuana centers, optional premises cultivation operations, and the manufacture of medical marijuana-infused products, unless such person does so as a patient or primary caregiver as authorized by Art. XVIII, Sec. 14 of the Colorado Constitution and pursuant to regulations enacted by the city; further authorizing the city to codify this ban in the municipal code. Yes or No.

position if the voters approved a ban. Lettunich said he would try to craft an ordinance that allowed the existing dispensaries to operate while legally protecting Steamboat. Also Tuesday, the City Council: ■ Approved $49,600 in additional funding for the Bike Town USA Initiative, including $19,600 to pay an executive director and to host another bike summit and $30,000 for marketing efforts. The funding will come from excess revenue collected to date. City Council opted to review a $103,000 request for road striping for bike lanes and increased signage for city streets. ■ Denied a request for supplemental funding for the Steamboat Springs Chamber Resort Association’s summer marketing plan.

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Elk, Yampa expected to rise Forecasters expect warmer weather to increase river levels PILOT & TODAY STAFF

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STEAMBOAT SPRINGS

The Yampa River reached a low level for the week Saturday afternoon, but it is expected to rise slightly during the next few days along with temperatures, according to the National Weather Service in Grand Junction. JOEL REICHENBERGER/STAFF The Yampa was measured Jenn Stone said she planted an array of vegetables a few days ago at the Fish Creek Mobile Home Park. Even as the Yampa River continued to spill over its banks at about 5.5 feet Saturday, with throughout the valley, she, and daughter Magdalina, 1, had to turn the hose on Saturday flood stage occurring at 7.5 feet. Forecasters expect the river to ensure success later this summer.

to rise to about 6.6 feet by Wednesday as temperatures rise to about 5 degrees above the seasonal norm. Temperatures are forecast in the mid- to high 70s for the early part of the week as a weak cold front from the weekend disappears, Weather Service forecaster Tom Renwick said.

That cold front is what slowed snowmelt and local rivers Friday and Saturday. “We got some clouds, and the temperatures dropped, and if we’re talking up in the mountains, a few degrees is pretty significant,” Renwick said. The Elk River, which was measured at 7.3 feet deep near Milner on Saturday afternoon, is forecast to rise into flood stage once again starting this afternoon.

ReTree greens up mountain Pine beetle affected areas repopulated

Blythe Terrell

PILOT & TODAY STAFF

SUNDAY FOCUS

See ReTree, page 2A

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS

JOEL REICHENBERGER/STAFF

Sal Malone, 5, takes a tree to plant with Fletcher Hand, 4, on Saturday in Steamboat Springs at the ReTree Steamboat event on Howelsen Hill. Volunteers planted more that 3,000 trees at the second annual event.

Aftermath of proposed pot ban unclear City Council member asks if plan could lead to unregulated, untaxed group growing Jack Weinstein

PILOT & TODAY STAFF

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS

If Steamboat Springs residents ban medical marijuana businesses in November, it doesn’t mean medical marijuana will go away. Steamboat Springs City Council member Jon Quinn asked at Tuesday’s meeting whether medical marijuana patients could get together and grow in a large space if residents banned dispensaries,

PAGE DESIGNED BY MATTHEW DOXTAD

School district narrows field to 4 Interviews this week for superintendent

ianne Stoyko sat back on her heels and admired the simple but impactful act she had just completed. “Here’s my little one,” she said, looking down at an 8-inch STORY BY sapling of an tree NICOLE INGLIS evergreen she had just planted in an aspen grove on Emerald Mountain. “I hope he’s going to do OK.” Under the bright Saturday morning sun, Stoyko spent two hours with friends Steph Berens and Cindy Svendsen planting trees in ideal locations for them to grow tall and strong, adding to the diversity of the Emerald Mountain forests. All three women had come on their own, armed with shovels and water, but soon found that they weren’t the only ones interested in giving back to the

Forecasters expect the rising temperatures to cause the Elk to reach a level of more than 8 feet. Flood stage occurs at 7.5 feet, and moderate stage occurs at 8.5 feet. The Elk has hovered around flood stage for about 10 days, and Renwick said that even if temperatures remain at the seasonal norm, there is still a lot of snow left to melt in the high country. “For now it’s just going to keep going,” Renwick said.

grow operations and infusedproduct makers. At the meeting, City Council members approved a ballot question that Quinn would let residents decide whether to continue allowing the operation of medical marijuana dispensaries, grow operations and infused-product makers in Steamboat. It wouldn’t prohibit cultiva-

tion and use by patients and caregivers in compliance with Amendment 20. The voterapproved state constitutional provision permits medical marijuana use for people with certain medical conditions and a doctor’s recommendation. “Do we end up with the same thing in just an unregulated and untaxed format?” Quinn asked, referring to what might happen if residents approve a ban. City staff attorney Dan

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Foote said that scenario was possible. He also said the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment could waive the five-patientper-caregiver rule for people without easy access to medical marijuana, such as a dispensary.

An alternative Steamboat lawyer Adam Mayo has lectured statewide about what he calls the patient See Ban, page 5A

RIVER REPORT

Yampa River flow Saturday Noon 2,840 cfs 11 p.m. 2,750 cfs Average for this date 2,140 cfs Highest for this date 5,190 cfs, 1921 Lowest for this date 150 cfs, 1954

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Streamflow reported in cubic feet per second at Fifth Street.

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The Steamboat Springs School Board has chosen four finalists for district superintendent. At a meeting Saturday morning, the board firmed up plans to interview Rosanne Fulton, Michelle Johnstone, Bradley Meeks and Lance Villers. The board voted, 3-0, to invite the canLike us on didates to interFacebook view. Board Presiand follow Steamboatpilot dent Robin Crossan and members on Twitter. Lisa Brown and Denise Connelly were present, along with Anne Muhme and Judy Harris, who is taking over for Muhme as the district’s human resources director. Board members Laura Anderson and Brian Kelly were out of town. The candidates will come to Steamboat on Thursday for a dinner with the board and then will be interviewed Friday by the board and two subcommittees of district faculty and staff members, students, parents and community members. The candidates will rotate among three rooms at The Steamboat Grand on Friday and then the board will meet at the Grand. Everything will be open to the public. “We’re trying to make it a very transparent process,” Connelly said. The interviews and meetings will not include public comment, however. The finalists were chosen from 24 candidates, Crossan said. Connelly and Kelly spearheadSee Superintendent, page 5A

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THE RECORD POLICE, FIRE & AMBULANCE CALLS

SATURDAY, JUNE 4 Casey Joseph Green, 18, Steamboat Springs — Driving under the influence, weaving, illegal consumption of alcohol by a minor (Colorado State Patrol) Brian Anthony Wilkerson, 38, Steamboat — DUI, driving under restraint, improper stopping (Steamboat Springs Police Department) Stephen Michael Kissick, 18, Steamboat — Possession of a Schedule 1 drug, possession of marijuana concentrate, possession of less than 2 ounces of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia (SSPD) SUNDAY, JUNE 5 Zachary Kohl Harrison, 31, Boulder — Fugitive of justice (contempt of court) (CSP) Silas Charges Cammer, 28, Steamboat

If you have information about any unsolved crime, call Routt County Crime Stoppers at 970-870-6226. You will remain anonymous and could earn a cash reward.

— DUI, careless driving causing bodily injury (CSP) Cruz Armando Izquierdo-Hernandez, 44, Steamboat — Second-degree assault (SSPD) MONDAY, JUNE 6 Ashley Alyssa Batty, 19, Steamboat — Fugitive of justice (theft) (SSPD) TUESDAY, JUNE 7 Cornelis Jeremiah Hotchkiss, 42, Steamboat — Third-degree assault (SSPD) WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8 Paul Russell Huttenhower, 53, Glenwood Springs — Fugitive of justice (violation of bail bond conditions) (CSP) Ronald Eugene Noel, 46, Steamboat

— Failure to register as a sex offender (Out of county) Elizabeth Ann Christensen, 42, Steamboat — DUI, driving under restraint, driving an uninsured motor vehicle (CSP) THURSDAY, JUNE 9 Jeremy Allen Girard, 19, Colorado Springs — Theft (SSPD) FRIDAY, JUNE 10 Kelsey Michelle Sullivan, 24, Oak Creek — Driving under the influence of drugs, driving an uninsured vehicle, defective vehicle, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of less than an ounce of marijuana (CSP)

POLICE BLOTTER FRIDAY, JUNE 10 6:40 a.m. Yampa Fire District emergency responders were called to a report of a fire in the 27000 block of Routt County Road 7 near Yampa. 7 a.m. Steamboat Springs Police Department officers were called to a report of someone driving erratically at

U.S. Highway 40 and Routt County Road 129. Officers issued a ticket. 7:30 a.m. Routt County Sheriff’s Office deputies were called to an animal complaint at the Yampa Ranger Station. 8:14 a.m. Police and Steamboat Springs Fire Rescue were called to an ambulance request for an elderly female with a broken pelvis. She was taken to Yampa Valley Medical Center. 10:06 a.m. Police were called to a report of suspicious male who was looking into cars in the 10th block of Lincoln Avenue. He was gone when police arrived. 10:14 a.m. Police and Steamboat Springs Fire Rescue were called to an ambulance request for a child who ran into a railing. The child was taken to YVMC. 11:22 a.m. Steamboat Springs Fire Rescue and police were called to a report of a woman bitten by a dog in the 400 block of Seventh Street. The woman was bleeding from her leg, but the injury was not serious. 11:26 a.m. Police sent extra patrol to the 200 block of River Road to respond to a report of people speeding through the area. No speeders were caught.

School Board cannot officially make hire until June 25 Superintendent continued from 1A ed the search process, for which Crossan thanked them Saturday. “We talked about using the criteria that was in the brochure that was posted on our website,” Connelly said. “We, individually, our board members reviewed the applications, we then had a meeting, an executive session, on Tuesday and discussed the applications … and narrowed those applications down to four finalists.” The board met Saturday because Colorado Open Meetings Law requires school boards to make public the list of finalists at least 14 days before a person is appointed. The board could have a candidate in mind at its June 20 meeting. It is allowed to start negotiations before that 14-day window is over but cannot officially make a hire until June 25.

The finalists: ■ Fulton is K-12 assistant superintendent in the Tacoma School District in Washington, according to her résumé. She has held that position since 2009. Previously, her positions included director of K-12 schools in the Douglas County School District in Colorado, K-8 principal at Mapleton Public Schools in Colorado, and executive director of curriculum and instruction for Denver Public Schools. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Northern Colorado, a Master of Arts degree from the University of Colorado-Denver and a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Denver. ■ Johnstone is principal of Spangler Elementary in the St. Vrain Valley School District in Longmont, according to her résumé. She has held the position since 2007. She previously

was a principal and an assistant principal at two elementary schools in Greeley District 6 and a fifth-grade bilingual teacher at schools in Longmont and Commerce City. Johnstone has a Bachelor of Arts from MacMurray College in Jacksonville, Ill., a Master of Arts from the University of Northern Colorado and a Doctor of Educational Leadership from the University of Northern Colorado. ■ Meeks is superintendent of Farmington Area Public Schools in Farmington, Minn., according to his résumé. He has held the position since 2003. His previous positions include superintendent of Aberdeen School District in Aberdeen, S.D., and principal and assistant principal positions in Sioux Falls and Elk Point, S.D. He has two Bachelor of Science degrees from Northern State University in Aberdeen, S.D., a Master of Science

from Northern State and a Doctor of Education from the University of South Dakota. ■ Villers is superintendent of the Custer County School District in Colorado, according to his résumé. He has held the position since 2006. His previous positions include secondary principal in Custer County and director, manager and financial officer at Horn Creek, a Christian camp and conference grounds west of Pueblo. He has a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Southern Colorado, a Bachelor of Science degree from Evangel College and a Master of Education degree from Liberty University. The chosen candidate will replace Superintendent Shalee Cunningham, who will become superintendent of the Novato Unified School District in Marin County, Calif. Her last day with Steamboat is June 30.

Lawyer: Ban would lead to loss of control and taxes Ban continued from 1A

said. “Nobody’s written about these patient collectives much at all.” Kriho added that if Steamboat residents did approve a ban, patients still would find a way to get medical marijuana.

“My overwhelming concern collective model. He said is we’re not putting on the Amendment 20 allows patients ballot what people think. It’s to grow medical marijuana in doing away with the taxation the same space and gives them the right to assist one another. and regulation. That has me Mayo said it makes more concerned.” sense for patients to grow together instead of trying to raise as many as six plants in their homes, especially if they are prohibited from doing so by their landlords, can’t afford expensive equipment or don’t want to grow around their children. Mayo added that patients would not be required to conform with House Bill 1284, legislation created to regulate the state’s medical marijuana industry. “I think that’s the problem with banning the stores. The stores are heavily regulated and taxed,” he said. “If you ban and force everybody into these collectives, the state loses all control.” Mayo said the only restrictions he envisioned were local land-use and zoning regulations. But he said existing Steamboat dispensaries already conform to those rules and could use their grow operations for patient collectives. Mayo said it would operate like a landlord-tenant arrangement.

Getting the message out

Jon Quinn Steamboat Springs City Council member

No plans yet Kevin Fisher, co-owner of Steamboat dispensary Rocky Mountain Remedies, said the business’ goal was to provide medication to patients who need it. Because the patient collective model exists in a legal gray area, Fisher couldn’t say whether Rocky Mountain Remedies would serve as a consultant and offer grow locations for patients if voters passed a ban on businesses. “It’s something we’d consider, but we’d have to see the legal ramifications,” he said. Laura Kriho, of the Boulder-based Cannabis Therapy Institute, said she asked Mayo to give a presentation about the patient collective model in October on the Front Range after hearing about it. Kriho said every lawyer who she’s had review the model said Amendment 20 allows it, but it’s still an untested concept. “It’s a whole new area,” she

Colorado voters approved Amendment 20, which was supported by a majority of Routt County residents, in 2000. But it took nearly a decade for the industry to take off. Steamboat’s three dispensaries opened in 2009 and have been regulated by ordinance the city approved in January 2010. The suggestion to ban medical marijuana businesses came at a City Council meeting April 5. Steamboat Springs Police Department Capt. Joel Rae and Dr. Brian Harrington, of Yampa Valley Medical Associates, asked City Council members to consider a ban. Since then, Steamboat residents Lisa Watts and Dr. Kelly Victory have created a group opposing local medical marijuana businesses. At Tuesday’s City Council meeting, Quinn said he just wanted people to understand what could happen if residents ban medical marijuana dispensaries, grow operations and infused-product makers. “My overwhelming concern

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is we’re not putting on the ballot what people think,” he said. “It’s doing away with the taxation and regulation. That has me concerned.”

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11:47 a.m. Police and Steamboat Springs Fire Rescue were called to an ambulance request at Howelsen Hill for a young boy who fell off a scooter while on a skate ramp. 12:13 p.m. Police were called to a report of a car blocking a business’ driveway in the 700 block of Oak Street. The car’s owner moved it. 12:44 p.m. Police and Steamboat Springs Fire Rescue were called to an ambulance request for a 52-year-old woman with difficulty breathing. 2:06 p.m. A person called police because he noticed a screen missing from his window in the 900 block of Central Park Drive. 4 p.m. Deputies were called to a report of trespassing in the 43000 block of Routt County Road 36. 4:33 p.m. Police were called to a report of a hit-and-run accident in the 100 block

of Lincoln Avenue. 6:16 p.m. Police were called to a report of a hit-and-run accident in the 1800 block of Central Park Drive. 7:48 p.m. Police were called to a report of a juvenile situation. Officers issued three minor in possession citations at Fetcher Park. 9:33 p.m. Police, Division of Wildlife Officers and Steamboat Springs Fire Rescue were called to a report of a bear in the 500 block of South Lincoln Avenue. The bear was scared off with lights. 9:46 p.m. Police were called to a noise complaint in the 1300 block of Dream Island Plaza. Officers issued a warning. 10:21 p.m. Police were called to a report of a barking dog in the 2500 block of Val d’Isere Circle. Officers issued a warning. 10:25 p.m. Police were called to a noise complaint in the 800 block of Weiss Circle. The call was unfounded.

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20746232

JAIL REPORT

S t e a m b o at

today

Wednesday June 22, 2011

Steamboat Springs, Colorado

FREE

Vol. 23, No. 148

RO U T T

C O U N T Y ’ S

DA I LY

N E W S PA P E R

SteamboatToday.com

INSIDE: Goats may soon be a more common sight in Steamboat lawns as city planners take up the issue • page 3

Deep in the roughage County bans new marijuana business Fate of Aloha’s to go to voters Scott Franz

Pilot & Today Staff

Steamboat Springs

The Routt County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday voted to ban all new medical marijuana dispensaries, grow operations and infused-product makers in For more unincorporated areas of the Steamboat county. Springs City “Given what Council revised its medical mar- we have here ijuana ordinance now, and the sitduring a uation we find meeting on ourselves in in Tuesday night Routt County, See back page the ban on new establishments is quite appropriate,” Commissioner Diane Mitsch Bush said. The ban will not affect Aloha’s, a dispensary that operates in Milner. The commissioners instead will have voters decide the business’ fate this fall at the ballot box. At Tuesday night’s public meeting at the Routt County Courthouse, commissioners said concerns about the drug’s accessibility to children and the state’s regulation of dispensaries prompted the ban. Commissioners also questioned whether they should allow an activity in the county that is still considered illegal by the federal government. Mitsch Bush said that legitimate medical marijuana cardSee Marijuana, page 21

■ Index Briefs . . . . . . . . . 10 Classifieds . . . . . 28 Comics . . . . . . . 26 Crossword . . . . . 26 Happenings . . . . . 6 Horoscope . . . . . 27

Lotto . . . . . . . . . 25 Movies . . . . . . . . . 7 The Record . . . . 10 Scoreboard . . . . 25 Sports . . . . . . . . 22 ViewPoints . . . . . 8

A yellow-belly marmot attempts to hide in the tall grass at Rollingstone Ranch Golf Club on Tuesday afternoon.

John F. Russell/staff

Bumping room rates Hotel manager notes prices are lower than other mountain towns Tom Ross

Holiday Inn of Steamboat Springs General Manager Barbara Robinson told a gathering of business leaders Tuesday that the local lodging community needs to figure out how competing mountain resorts are able to command higher room rates on average than

Steamboat does. “There is a visitor out there who is generating more revenue than we’ve collected,” Robinson said at a business panel discussion sponsored by the Steamboat Springs Chamber Resort Association. Robinson said there is both good and challenging news for summer tourism. “Travel has definitely rebounded,” Robinson said. “People are

■ river report

■ weather

PILOT & TODAY STAFF

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS

Yampa River flow Monday Noon 2,460 cfs 11 p.m. 2,670 cfs Average for this date 1,480 cfs Highest for this date 5,170 cfs, 1917 Lowest for this date 61 cfs, 1934 Streamflow reported in cubic feet per second at the Fifth Street Bridge as provided by the U.S. Geological Survey.

Sunny. High of 76.

Page 27

looking for luxury hotels again, after the last two years when they were looking for the second tier of their choice. And the group business that we weren’t getting in 2008 and 2009 is rebounding strongly, and that’s wonderful for all of us.” On the other hand, Robinson said, Steamboat did not reach the 6 percent growth in tourism that Colorado saw statewide in 2010. And she said her

property recently lost a booking for a U.S. Forest Service group because of federal belttightening. Visitors to Steamboat overwhelmingly give positive feedback about their stays here, Robinson said, but compared with mountain towns such as Vail, Aspen and Breckenridge, visitors to Steamboat tend to See Hotel, page 20

■ events Scan this code with your smartphone or visit SteamboatToday. com/events for a complete listing.

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Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Dispensary owner confident county will vote his way Marijuana continued from 1 holders who rely on the drug to ease pain would still be able to grow it at home or seek it out from another jurisdiction. The commissioners then voted to draft a ballot question that will ask voters in November whether to close Aloha’s. Commissioner Nancy Stahoviak, who participated in the meeting via telephone, said she would have preferred to ban Aloha’s instead of “grandfathering” it in their approved resolution banning dispensaries. “I have a huge concern about that existing operation and the state’s ability to monitor it,” she said. “I would like to include the ban of existing operations (in our resolution) because it has no constitutional right to be there, and that would be the right thing to do.” Commissioners approved a conditional land-use application for Aloha’s in May and defended themselves against accusations from members of the public who said Tuesday that the governing board had made a mistake in allowing the dispensary to open. “We as commissioners had no ability to ban it,” Stahoviak said. “But now we do have a state statute that allows us to ban it, so times are differ-

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“To not close Aloha’s with this vote would be in my view a very destructive mistake.” Lisa Watts Medical marijuana opponent

“If it does go to a ballot, I think that we’ll be OK. We’ll campaign pretty hard to be able to stay open.” Chris Ward

ent now.” The commissioners required the dispensary to make 17 changes to its facility before it opened, transforming it from a residential to a commercial building. After Aloha’s opened, the county imposed a moratorium prohibiting new dispensaries. In addition to Aloha’s, three medical marijuana dispensaries have operated in Steamboat since 2009, and one operates in Oak Creek. Aloha’s was in the crosshairs of several community members who attended Tuesday’s meeting. “To not close Aloha’s with this vote would be in my view a very destructive mistake for the future of our county,” said resident Lisa Watts, who helped start a community group that opposes local medical marijuana businesses. Watts said it would be her top priority to “unify people who are concerned about the establishment of medical marijuana dispensaries.” “I believe we’ll have the votes,” to close Aloha’s, she said.

Aloha’s dispensary owner

Aloha’s owner Chris Ward said after the meeting that he wasn’t so sure. “If it does go to a ballot, I think that we’ll be OK,” he said. “We’ll campaign pretty hard to be able to stay open.” Ward said he was consulting with his attorney to verify whether the commissioners can place the question on a ballot without first receiving signatures from a community initiative. He estimates that his dispensary has served at least 750 medical marijuana patients since it opened. Routt County resident Dr. Kelly Victory, one of 20 community members who attended Tuesday’s meeting, said the commissioners’ ban on new dispensaries in the county was a step in the right direction. “This is a first step into rectifying the situation that was created here out of the misapplication of Amendment 20,” said Victory, who like Watts is a leader of the community group opposing dispensaries. “Routt County needs to stand firm

A resolution of the Board of County Commissioners of Routt County, Colorado prohibiting the establishment or operation of new medical marijuana centers, medical marijuana optional premises cultivation operations, and medical marijuana-infused products manufacturers in the unincorporated areas of Routt County except as provided herein and establishing specific standards for license issuance to existing medical marijuana centers and medical marijuana option premises cultivation operations and reserving authority to extend, modify or remove the prohibitions and standards for license issuance set forth herein.

in supporting only the legal medicinal use of marijuana.” Colorado voters approved the use of marijuana for certain medical conditions with a doctor’s recommendation in 2000 by voting in favor of Amendment 20. The constitutional amendment was supported by a majority of Routt County voters. The commissioners voted to approve the ban instead of extending the county’s current moratorium that disallows the establishment of new dispensaries, saying the moratorium permits dispensaries that are closed by cities to legally relocate to unincorporated areas of the county. To reach Scott Franz, call 871-4210 or email ScottFranz@SteamboatToday.com

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Colorado’s medical marijuana businesses are subject to new rules today that are meant to regulate the business that opponents think has operated without any oversight. Dispensaries, grow operations and infused-product makers must be in compliance with 77 pages of new Colorado Department of Revenue rules drafted after the state adopted new legislation in 2010 and updated this year, or their owners could face fines or criminal penalties. The rules range from extensive security provisions to employee identification requirements. The Department of Revenue’s medical marijuana enforcement officers also will start to inspect businesses in conjunction with the new rules. Owners of Steamboat Springs dispensaries, which have operated since fall 2009, said the new rules wouldn’t change much about how they operate — though they say becoming fully compliant cost them each a lot of money.

JOhN F. RuSSELL/STAFF

Kevin Fisher, co-owner of Steamboat Springs dispensary Rocky Mountain Remedies, checks on a recently installed video camera inside his business. New regulations, which include more video monitoring of the operations of medical marijuana dispensaries, will go into effect today.

Online Visit SteamboatToday.com to see the complete 77 pages of Colorado Department of Revenue rules that take effect today.

from their regulatory stance and they can see that this, in fact, is one of the most regulated industries in the state and, by far, state laws in the country. “There’s nothing close to this.” Colorado voters approved the use of marijuana for people with certain medical conditions and a doctor’s recommendation by supporting Amendment 20 in 2000. In Routt County, 65 percent of voters supported the measure. The state’s medical marijuana industry took off in 2009, when the number of patients and businesses exploded. At the time, the state didn’t cap the number of patients a caregiver could serve, and the federal government said it wouldn’t use resources against

Legitimate or not? The owners said they hoped the new rules and additional enforcement would help validate them as legitimate businesses operating in the community. “They say we need regulations like alcohol and tobacco,” Rocky Mountain Remedies co-owner Kevin Fisher said about opponents to Steamboat’s medical marijuana businesses. “There are cigarette vending machines. What do you mean? So, hopefully this starts to shift the tide away

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people in compliance with state medical marijuana laws. According to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, as of May 31, there were 127,444 medical marijuana cardholders, including 1,883 in the county. That’s about 5 percent of the county’s 23,509 residents. Steamboat Springs police Capt. Joel Rae said although the new rules were an improvement, he’s not convinced they’re the answer to clean up the state’s medical marijuana industry. “It purely appears out of control, and this isn’t going to do anything to slow that down,” Rae said. He said the state needs to start keeping “rogue doctors from writing bogus prescriptions” and work its way toward cardholders turning around and selling what they bought from dispensaries on the street.

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Rules soon could be moot in Steamboat Marijuana continued from 12

A difference of opinion Dan Hartman, director of the Department of Revenue’s medical marijuana enforcement division, said that when his office is fully staffed, 27 enforcement officers will work out of four regional offices across the state. He said eventually they will meet with medical marijuana business owners monthly. They will address requirements about hours of operation, displaying licenses, employee identification badges, labeling, storage, transportation, cleanliness and waste disposal, among others. Hartman said the most significant changes will be extensive security requirements, including surveillance cameras that can be accessed at any time by the state, and tagging plants with radio-frequency identification tags. “Between tracking and having a database that tracks the

seed-to-sale inventory and the video part of it, we really bring a lot of validity to the industry,” he said. “If a complaint happens, we can go back in time to tapes or electronic images that we can verify that it didn’t happen or that it did happen.” Hartman called today a “milestone” for the state’s medical marijuana industry. Steamboat resident Lisa Watts, who helped start a group to oppose local medical marijuana businesses, disagrees. “For me, this kind of thing gives me no comfort. It’s a band-aid type effort,” she said about the new rules. “This is a mess. … I just think it’s a huge misrepresentation to the public that they have a grip on this, and they don’t.”

Rules could be moot Local businesses’ need to comply with the new rules could be short-lived. Steamboat voters will consider a ballot measure in November to ban all medical mar-

ijuana businesses. The Routt County Board of Commissioners banned all future medical marijuana businesses in unincorporated areas of the county June 21. County commissioners also referred a question to the November ballot that will allow residents to decide whether to ban Milner dispensary Aloha’s. D & C Medical Marijuana and Therapeutic Massage coowner Charlie Magnuson said he hopes local residents understand that a ban would result in a return to an untaxed, unregulated black market. “I hope it changes the attitude from where people were saying it was like the wild, wild West,” he said about the rules. “Before, there wasn’t any enforcement. You had to police yourselves. It’s not like that anymore. Now they’re enforcing us. I hope people realize it’s better that the Department of Revenue regulates us. I hope they don’t ban it in November.”

MainStreet Steamboat Design Committee salutes the volunteers who helped to spruce up Eagle Scout Park (7th and Yampa Streets below the Ghost Ranch) by clearing brush and opening up Butcher Knife Creek, planting the rock wall, and getting benches installed for the public.

Many thanks to...

∙ Tom Simmins, Steamboat Association Mgmt: for the vision and pulling the project together ∙ Aces High: for the use of a free dumpster and the free disposal of debris ∙ Ciao Gelato: for free food for the volunteers ∙ Christian Poirot: from Scout Troop 194 ∙ Steamboat Association Management: for use of equipment ∙ Resort Group: for use of time and equipment ∙ Design Committee members Susan Corser and Irene Nelson ∙ Dave Pieknik - Steamboat Association Mgmt ∙ Frank Lawhead - Steamboat Association Mgmt ∙ Russ Mann - Steamboat Association Mgmt ∙ Andy Kidgell and family ∙ Steamboat Springs Parks and Rec: for bench, picnic table and bike rack 20755491

Friday, July 1, 2011

| 13

We all love him. We all miss him. Let’s all take a day to celebrate him. Park Bench dedication in Hayden followed by a party done only as Brady would want it.

Sunday July 3rd, 2011 @ 4pm 131 Harvest Dr. Hayden, CO

Be sure to wear something orange. It was Brady’s favorite color because it is bright, cheesy, and slightly over the top...the perfect addition to any party. We will provide appetizers, finger foods and dessert. Please BYOB. Email Jenny Meier at meier.jennym@gmail.com with any questions or if you need directions. Keep Smiling!

Remembering Brady Meier This will be a casual and joyful celebration of an amazing man’s life. Thank you for sharing this day with us!

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LOCAL

STEAMBOAT TODAY

LOCAL

STEAMBOAT TODAY

Aloha’s fate heads to voters

Thursday, July 21, 2011

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Commissioners OK ballot question about marijuana center Scott Franz

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Chris Ward, owner of Aloha’s medical marijuana center in Milner, asked the Routt County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday to table a resolution that would ask voters whether to close the dispensary. The commissioners unanimously approved putting the question on the November ballot.

adequately regulating dispensaries and whether the county should allow an activity that the federal government considers illegal. They also cited concerns about the drug’s potential accessibility to children as a reason to enact the ban. Commissioners said they could have voted to close Aloha’s last month but elected to ask the public whether it should be closed because a majority of Routt County voters supported Amendment 20 in 2000, which allowed the use of marijuana for certain medical conditions with a doctor’s recommendation. “We felt like letting the people of the county voice their opinion again,” Commissioner Diane Mitsch Bush said. “We’ve heard lots of testimony from many in the medical field who felt that Amendment 20 wasn’t working the way people had thought it would.” Commissioner Doug Monger also said he supported letting county residents vote on the issue.

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But Commissioner Nancy Stahoviak said last month that she would have liked to include the closure of Aloha’s in the resolution banning new medical marijuana dispensaries in the county. “I have a huge concern about that existing operation and the state’s ability to monitor it,” she said. She also said the dispensary had no constitutional right to operate. Commissioners approved a conditional land-use application for Aloha’s in May and required Ward to make 17 changes to his facility that transformed it from a residential to a commercial building. The business opened July 4, 2010, and Ward said it serves more than 700 medical marijuana patients. To reach Scott Franz, call 970-871-4210 or email scottfranz@SteamboatToday.com

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The Routt County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday unanimously approved a ballot question that will ask voters whether to close Aloha’s in Milner despite a plea from the medical marijuana dispensary’s owner to table the resolution. Aloha’s would have until January 1, 2012, to close if voters approve the resolution in November. Aloha’s owner Chris Ward told commissioners that his business has complied with all of the state’s regulations for dispensaries and that he felt two months was not a sufficient amount of time for his business to wind down if its closure was approved. “It would be an atrocity, and it would be ludicrous for me to continue expanding or keeping up to date with new laws … if this resolution is passed,” he said. Ward’s attorney and three of his twelve employees also addressed the commissioners before Tuesday’s vote. “This establishes a bad precedent to try to run one lawful business out of town. It’s bad policy, and it runs counter to our country’s tradition of freedom, of letting people who need something get it,” attorney Scott McGill said. He called the ballot question heartless, and he urged the board to not approve it. Commissioners last month voted to ban all new medical marijuana dispensaries, grow operations and infused-product makers in unincorporated areas of the county but left the fate of Aloha’s up to the ballot box. Commissioners questioned whether the state was

THE LODGE, FIRST TRACKS DEFINE MID-LEVEL SKI CONDO NICHE | REAL E STATE 1B

$1.00

FUELED UP Crews keep cyclists rolling

CYCLING SPIRIT

OUTDOORS 4A

Costume-clad fans come out to watch event SPORTS 9A

SUNDAY, AUGUST 28, 2011

VOLUME 125, NUMBER 3 • STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, COLORADO • SteamboatToday.com

Stage 5 a treat for fans Steamboat’s USA Pro Cycling Challenge host duties end with send-off Saturday

t was early Saturday morning, and Tania Coffey was pressing herself against a metal gate with hundreds of fellow cycling fans, clutching a glossy poster with several autographs from proSTORY BY fessional NICOLE INGLIS cyclists. She planned to give the Online poster to For videos and her son. photos of Stage Coffey, 5 of the USA Pro a local resiCycling Challenge dent and from Steamboat Springs, visit avid biker, SteamboatToday. said she was com proud of Steamboat for turning out in huge numbers to support the USA Pro Cycling Challenge. And during Saturday’s Athletes Alley before the Stage 5 race start, she was excited to be able to see the international athletes up close and personal. “It’s so dorky,” she said. “But it’s so fun to see. Dave Zabriskie came down here and he signed autographs for us, and he is a rock star. “They’re really nice about it.” The Stage 5 start of the Pro Cycling Challenge might not have had the “wow” factor of the sprint finish and enormous crowds of Stage 4 on Friday afternoon, but Saturday’s expo and send-off was a dream come true for those who follow the sport of cycling. There were several hundred on hand at the Meadows Parking Lot for the morning event, which offered a more behind-the-scenes look at how the pro cycling world functions. The riders warmed up by riding through the crowd while their support teams packed up tires and wheels before the 11:20 a.m. start. Men with shaved legs and spandex wandered the crowd, giddy and star-struck, talking gear ratios with professional team members. Crowds

All quiet on pot debate Groups report little activity before election

SUNDAY FOCUS

Jack Weinstein

PILOT & TODAY STAFF

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS

JOEL REICHENBERGER/STAFF

The leading edge of the peloton of Stage 5 of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge pedals up Rabbit Ears Pass above the Yampa Valley on Saturday outside Steamboat Springs. The riders took off from Meadows Parking Lot in Steamboat and made their way up Rabbit Ears Pass to head over to Breckenridge.

gathered at the door to each tour bus, craning their necks and lifting cameras overhead to catch a glimpse of the athletes. Local resident Karin Kagan had her picture taken with a few Skil-Shimano team members who were lounging in the back of a support car. “The direct interaction with the athletes has been great,” she said. “It’s so great that they’ve taken the time.” Kagan said she had a special interest in checking out the professionals’ bikes Saturday. Today she’s competing in the Olympic-distance Steamboat Triathlon at Lake Catamount. Meeting the pro cyclists

More inside ■ Get a behind-thescenes look at racing crews, 4A ■ A breakdown of Stage 5 from Steamboat to Breckenridge, 9A ■ Costume-clad crowds swarm Rabbit Ears Pass to watch the event, 9A ■ Climbing with the pros on Rabbit Ears Pass, 9A

See Cycling, page 8A

JOEL REICHENBERGER/STAFF

Daniel Summerhill, of Team Garmin-Cervelo, signs an autograph Saturday before the Stage 5 start of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge in Steamboat Springs. Several hundred riders were on hand at Meadows Parking Lot to provide a more behind-the-scenes look at how the pro cycling world functions.

The medical marijuana debate in Steamboat Springs, which earlier this summer grew to a seemingly fever pitch, has been quiet lately. That’s just the way Kevin FishOnline er wants it. To register “That’s how to vote or to we always intenbecome an ded this industry active voter, to be,” said Fishgo to www. govotecolorado er, co-owner of .com. Rocky Mountain Remedies, Steamboat’s first medical marijuana dispensary. The local medical marijuana businesses operated under the radar for their first 18 months after they started opening in fall 2009, but that changed last spring. Fisher and medical marijuana opponents have said advertising by Aloha’s, a medical marijuana dispensary in Milner, put the industry in the public spotlight — at least locally. “It’s the influences outside the city in the county who put this on the forefront and put this on the front page,” Fisher said. “That’s not what this is about. It’s about safe access to physician-recommended health care. That’s what Steamboat wants. And that’s what we want to provide.” Aloha’s owner Chris Ward couldn’t be reached for comment Friday. Fisher has said he would organize a group to support Steamboat’s medical marijuana businesses, but right now he’s just encouraging people to register to vote. Steamboat voters will consider Nov. 1 whether to ban medical marijuana businesses within city limits. The City Council unanimously approved putting the question to voters May 17 after a motion to simply ban the See Marijuana, page 5A

Taking words off paper

BOCES grant brings more audio, e-books to Routt County schools Scott Franz

where I was at, and it was frustrating.” One year later, Colton has improved from a third-grade to a seventh-grade reading level. All

he needed was a narrator, and some speakers to bring his favorite stories to life. “When I started listening to books, it was easier to understand the words as I read along with a voice,” he said. Colton is one of several students across Routt County and Northwest Colorado who have benefited from the arrival of new audiobooks and MP3 players in school libraries. The tech tools

RIVER REPORT

DELIVERY PROBLEM?

PILOT & TODAY STAFF

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS

SCOTT FRANZ/STAFF

Steamboat Springs High School senior Miles Maclean navigates the menu screen of an MP3 player his reading class will use to listen to audiobooks this semester.The tech tools were obtained as part of a $9,000 grant obtained last year.

PAGE DESIGNED BY LAURA MAZADE

OUTSIDE

INSIDE Classifieds . . . . . . . 3B Comics. . . . . . . . . 10B Crossword . . . . . . 11B Happenings . . . . . . 2A Milestones . . . . . . . 3A

When Colton Koler trained his eyes on the pages of a book early last year, he often lost his place in the narrative. “I didn’t have a good attention span,” the Soroco Middle School seventh-grader said Thursday at recess during his first day back at school. “I would always lose

Obituaries . . . . . . . 3A Outdoors . . . . . . . . 4A Sports . . . . . . . . . . 9A Viewpoints . . . . . . . 6A Weather . . . . . . . . 11B

ROUTT

Storm in the afternoon. High of 82. Page 11B

COUNTY’S

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Yampa River flow Saturday Noon 216 cfs 11 p.m. 224 cfs Average for this date 120 cfs Highest for this date 341 cfs, 1957 Lowest for this date 40 cfs, 1931

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Streamflow reported in cubic feet per second at Fifth Street.

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were obtained as part of a $9,000 grant secured by the Northwest Colorado Board of Cooperative Educational Services last year. The grant, which funded a program called Learning Everywhere with Alternatives to Print, has streamlined the availability of audio and e-books that can be downloaded from the internet onto a portable media device. See Grant, page 5A

LOOK InsIde for

LOCAL

THE RECORD

The following is a list of people booked into the Routt County Jail on suspicion of the listed charges. The arresting agency is listed in parentheses. SATURDAY, AUG. 20 Erick Charles Dierson, 25, Red Feather — Driving under the influence, weaving, defective brake lights (Steamboat Springs Police Department) Maria Cristina Galicia-Chavez, 41, Steamboat Springs — Third-degree assault (SSPD) SUNDAY, AUG. 21 Brian Scott Turner, 41, Yampa — Failure to appear (dog at large) (Routt County Sheriff’s Office) Sean Michael Lawlor, 26, Idaho Springs — Driving under the influence of drugs, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of marijuana, no tail lamps (Colorado State Patrol) MONDAY, AUG. 22 Todd Nicholas Milne, 30, Englewood — Criminal mischief (SSPD) Bruce Sims-Anthony Cobban, 33, Steamboat Springs — DUI, careless driving, displaying fictitious plates, driving without a license (SSPD) Cynthia Gail Pugsley, 59, Steamboat Springs — DUI, DUID, weaving (SSPD) Christopher Lee Keogh, 33, Steamboat Springs — DUI, possession of less than 2 ounces of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia (SSPD) TUESDAY, AUG. 23 Darrell Scott Bruder, 56, Steamboat Springs — DUI, failure to display lamps (CSP) WEDNESDAY, AUG. 24 Brian James Fatjo, 33, Hayden — Criminal mischief (Hayden Police Department) Timothy James Scopac, 34, Hayden — Indecent exposure (SSPD) Gerald Dwain Albrecht, 25, Arvada — Fugitive of justice (speeding) (Routt County Sheriff’s Office)

Crime Stoppers If you have information about any unsolved crime, call Routt County Crime Stoppers at 970-870-6226. You will remain anonymous and could earn a cash reward.

Caitlin Campagna, 20, Oak Creek — Violating a protective order (RCSO) Chester Allen Masonheimer, 66, Castle Pines — DUI (CSP) THURSDAY, AUG. 25 Douglas Elliot Nugent, 31, Steamboat Springs — First degree criminal trespass, violating a protective order (SSPD) FRIDAY, AUG. 26 Kristopher Karl Enger, 25, Steamboat Springs — Driving while ability impaired, failure to yield (CSP) Nathan David Smith, 20, Steamboat Springs — Disorderly conduct (SSPD)

POLICE BLOTTER FRIDAY, AUG. 26 1:22 a.m. Police were called to a large party at Après Ski Way and Val D’Isere circle where several minor in possession tickets were issued and one person, a 20-year-old Steamboat Springs man, was arrested on suspicion of disorderly conduct. 6:05 a.m. Routt County Sheriff’s Office deputies were called to a report of a dog attacking a neighbor’s dog in Clark. 6:39 a.m. A bear was sighted in downtown Steamboat, but was gone when law enforcement arrived. 8:16 a.m. Steamboat Springs Police Department officers were called to a car versus bike crash at Eighth and Oak streets. The bicyclist had minor injuries. 8:23 a.m. Deputies were called to a report of a two-car, noninjury crash in the 2600 block of Pine Grove Road. 8:43 a.m. Deputies and Steamboat Springs Fire Rescue emergency responders were called to a one-car rollover at mile marker 158 of U.S. Highway 40. The crash ended up being in Grand County. 10:53 a.m. Police were called to a report

of someone vandalizing a wall in the 800 block of Lincoln Avenue. The person was actually cleaning graffiti off the wall. 11:15 a.m. Police were called to assist a motorist trying to navigate the road block set up for the USA Pro Cycling Challenge. 11:35 a.m. Hayden Police and West Routt Fire District responders were called to a report of a child in a raft that overturned in Hayden. The child was transported to Yampa Valley Medical Center with the help of Steamboat Police navigating the ambulance through the bike race road blocks. 12:04 p.m. Police and Steamboat Springs Fire Rescue were called to a report of a gas leak in the 900 block of Weiss Drive. 12:29 p.m. Police assisted Colorado State Patrol in a moving road block for the USA Pro Cycling Challenge. 1:14 p.m. Deputies were called to a report of a person speeding down Routt County Road 24. 1:24 p.m. Police assisted someone at a Steamboat Springs hotel who complained she couldn’t get across U.S. Highway 40 to pick up her child at day care. She had to wait a few minutes before she could get across because of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge. 1:47 p.m. Police were called to a report of a credit card fraud. 2:13 p.m. Someone turned in a wallet found between Seventh Street and Lincoln Avenue. It was returned to its owner. 2:19 p.m. Deputies were called to mile marker 109 of U.S. Highway 40 for a report of a cow in the road. The deputy helped rancher put the cow back in the pasture. 2:29 p.m. Police and Steamboat Springs Fire Rescue were called to an ambulance request for a person having a panic attack. 2:42 p.m. North Routt Fire District emergency responders were called to a report of a brush fire in the Hahn’s Peak Lake area. 3:55 p.m. Deputies were called to a car crash at mile marker 154 of U.S. Highway 40. The call ended up being in Jackson County. 4:04 p.m. Police were called to a report of a lost 6-year-old in downtown Steamboat

Springs. He was reunited with his parents within about 30 minutes. 4:54 p.m. Routt County Search and Rescue and deputies were called to Sheriff’s Resevoir in the Williams Fork Area to rescue a man who had been injured after a horse ran over him. According to Routt County Communications scanner traffic, the man had rib injuries, a dislocated shoulder and difficulty breathing. 5:49 p.m. Police were called to a report of a theft in the 1800 block of 13th Street. 6:03 p.m. Police were called to a false burglary alarm. 6:05 p.m. Police were called to a report of a stolen Suzuki motorcycle at Eighth and Oak streets that belonged to a photographer working for the USA Pro Cycling Challenge. The bike had several thousands of dollars of camera equipment on board. It has not yet been found. 7:02 p.m. Deputies were called to assist a driver at a runaway truck ramp on U.S. Highway 40. 7:26 p.m. Police were called to a report of juveniles drinking at the Free Summer Concert Series. Officers issued three minor in possession tickets. 9:12 p.m. Police were called to a report of an intoxicated pedestrian in the 3200 block of South Lincoln Avenue. The person was gone when officers arrived. 9:12 p.m. Police were called to a report of a possibly drunk driver in the 1000 block of Central Park Drive. The person was sober. 9:48 p.m. Police were called to check on someone in the 800 block of Howelsen Parkway who was passed out. A sober friend was taking care of them. 10:37 p.m. Police and Steamboat Springs Fire Rescue were called to an ambulance request on Yampa Street where someone was transported to YVMC. 10:57 p.m. Police were called to a report of a suspicious vehicle at Ninth Street and Lincoln Avenue. 11:03 p.m. Police were called to a report of a fight in progress in the 700 block of Lincoln Avenue. The two men, who were friends, were separated. 11:56 p.m. Police were called to the 3600 block of Lincoln Avenue for a welfare check. The person was fine.

Ballots will be mailed to county voters starting Oct. 11 Marijuana continued from 1A businesses without a public vote failed. The Routt County Board of Commissioners approved a ban of future medical marijuana businesses in unincorporated areas of the county June 21. On July 21, the commissioners approved a ballot question that will let county voters decide whether to allow the continued operation of Aloha’s. Steamboat resident Lisa Watts, one of the leaders of a medical marijuana opposition group, said the silence surrounding medical marijuana as the election nears isn’t significant. “I don’t think it means anything other than the effort to get the issue on the ballots and in front of the voters has been accomplished,” she said. “I think people wrapping up their summers, getting kids into school, has been extremely busy. I think once we get closer to the ballot issue in November and the vote, I think things will amp up as far as community dialogue. I antici-

MEDICAL MARIJUANA

Issues in Routt County

pate it will.” Watts said she and Dr. Kelly Victory, who also helped start the opposition group, continue to meet with residents and groups in the county. She said during the next two months the group would focus on an awareness effort. Colorado voters approved the use of marijuana for certain medical conditions with a doctor’s recommendation in 2000 by voting in favor of Amendment 20. It also was supported by a majority of county voters. The City Council approved an ordinance in January 2010 that defined rules for the operation of medical marijuana dispensaries after three opened in 2009. Aloha’s and Mary’s, a medical marijuana dispensary in Oak Creek, opened in 2010. The businesses continued to operate with little fanfare until last spring, when Steamboat

Springs Police Capt. Joel Rae asked the City Council in April to consider a ban. Watts’ group formed in May. Routt County Clerk and Recorder Kay Weinland said ballots would be mailed to county voters starting Oct. 11. Weinland has said unregistered voters have until Oct. 3 to register online at www.go votecolorado.com. Unregistered voters also have until that date to change their status. She said voters are inactive if they didn’t cast a ballot in the 2010 general elec-

Schools hoping to get grant for e-readers Grant continued from 1A And as Colton and other students who were previously slow readers see results from the program, their parents and teachers are celebrating with them. “It did improve his reading quite a bit,” Colton’s father, John Koler, said. “The main goal of the program was to get him excited about reading, and that’s exactly what happened. We’re happy he’s more interested in books now.” At Colton’s library at school, librarian Susan Rossi has significantly grown her collection of audiobooks available to her students since she received five MP3 players from the grant last year. Her digital list is now 97 books strong and includes titles that range from Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” to more modern favorites such as the “Twilight” series. Rossi said she’s enjoyed seeing students check out and listen to new titles. “It’s amazing to see them be successful with something they were hesitant to do,” she said about some of her students’ newfound enthusiasm for reading. “The value of the grant is way more than we could put a dollar figure on.”

New ways to read The audiobooks aren’t the only things transforming Rossi’s library. She said they’re only one of several major changes she has seen during her seven years at Soroco. While the Internet has thinned the magazine shelves and all but eradicated the need to pluck a heavy encyclopedia off a shelf, new equipment could also join the library’s stock of MP3 players. “Another thing coming around are Nooks and eReaders that can make more books obsolete,” she said. BOCES is looking to bring more of those to schools next year. As she promotes the grant she helped secure for area public libraries and six Northwestern Colorado school districts including Hayden, Steamboat Springs and South Routt, BOCES media specialist Julie Dalke said Thursday she’s hoping to land a $75,000 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to bring iPads, Nooks and other e-readers to more libraries next year. “Our schools previously didn’t have enough players like these and access to titles,” she said. “We’re making it so that kids have access to the content

News from Hayden’s Laurie Hallenbeck Condolences Sincere condolences to Kathy Hockett and her family. Kathy’s father recently passed away.

Milestones Happy birthday wishes to Aiden Klotz, Tim Gilroy, Keith Spencer, Jana Camilletti, Matthew Schuster, Mark Doolin, Fabian Frentress, Zane Booco, Joe Hayden and Brady Frentress. Congratulations to all the Routt County Fair exhibitors. Whether you showed an animal, put items in the Exhibit Hall or participated in open class shows, you were all winners. The fair was a great success this year; be sure to thank your Fair Board for its dedication. If you have any suggestions or would like to help next year, give a board member a call. Congratulations to the fifthand sixth-grade football team on its first win of the season. The team beat the Craig Bengals on Tuesday. Great job to the third- and fourth-grade football team as well, which played well despite losing its first game. The fifth- and sixthgraders play at 5:15 p.m. Tuesday in Craig, and the third- and fourth-graders play at 5:15 p.m. Monday and Wednesday in Craig.

Here come the Tigers The Hayden Middle School volleyball team kicks off its season at 4:30 p.m. Friday in Hayden against Baggs, Wyo. The second game of the sea-

son is at 4:30 p.m. Sept. 6 in Walden. Hayden’s high school volleyball team starts its season in West Grand on Saturday. The time has not yet been determined. Its second game is at 4 p.m. Sept. 6 at home against Rifle. Middle school football also is gearing up for the season that starts with a game at 4:30 p.m. Sept. 6 in Walden. The next game is at 9 a.m. Sept. 10 in Hayden against West Grand. Hayden High School’s varsity football team kicks off its season at 1 p.m. Saturday in Holyoke. The junior varsity team plays its first game at 4 p.m. Sept. 5 in Steamboat.

Happenings The Body Sculpting Class is gearing up for another session. If you are 50 or older, this class is being offered for you. The class is from 6 to 7 p.m. starting Sept. 12 and will be at The Haven on Mondays and Wednesdays. For more information, call Lindsay at 970-2767291. The ladies of the Craig and Hayden Rebekah Lodges will be helping drivers traveling on U.S. Highway 40 during Labor Day weekend. They will be handing out cookies, coffee, tea and lemonade to holiday travelers at the rest area between Hayden and Craig to encourage drivers to stop and take a break and rest before heading on their way. A big thank you for helping to keep our roads safe.

Ballot questions ■ Steamboat Springs Referendum 2C Shall the City of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, ban, effective January 1, 2012, the cultivation, manufacture and sale of medical marijuana, including the operations of medical marijuana centers, optional premise cultivation operations, and the manufacture of medical marijuana-infused products, unless such person does so as a patient or primary caregiver as authorized by Art. XVIII, Sec. 14 of the Colorado Constitution and pursuant to regulations enacted by the City; further authorizing the City to

they need to improve their reading.” She said data collected from schools since the grant was introduced last year has shown that special education teachers who used the audio books in classrooms reported seeing an average of a 48 percent increase in their students’ reading assignment completion. Teachers also reported that some students who used the audio support increased their reading level by several grades. While the grant has so far been targeted to aid students with reading disabilities, Steamboat Springs High School librarian Nicole DeCrette said the equipment is available to everyone. She said the program has brought more students to her library looking to download audio books than she anticipated. “It’s sometimes a bit cumbersome from a management standpoint because it has really taken off,” she said. “So far the grant has been a good thing and it has taken us exactly where we wanted to go.” BOCES will find out Sept. 15 whether they will receive another grant for the LEAP program.

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Around the county

POLICE, FIRE AND AMBULANCE CALLS — SOME MINOR CALLS OMITTED

JAIL REPORT

Steamboat Pilot & Today • Sunday, August 28, 2011

codify this ban in the Municipal Code? ■ Routt County Pursuant to the authority granted by C.R.S Section 12-43.3-106, shall all medical marijuana centers, optional premises cultivation operations and/ or medical marijuana-infused products manufacturers’ licenses, as those terms are defined in C.R.S. Section 12-3-104, not previously prohibited by Routt County Resolution No. 2011-33 be prohibited within the unincorporated boundaries of Routt County, Colorado, effective January, 1, 2012?

tion or if they have moved since then and haven’t updated their addresses. Until the election, Fisher will continue to enjoy the silence. “We just want to be here doing this quietly and taking care of the people who want to be taken care of,” he said.

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